


One More

by d_bxrh



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio Fluff, KageHina - Freeform, Karasuno, M/M, Romantic Fluff, Third Year Hinata Shouyou, Third Year Hinata Shouyou and Kageyama Tobio, Third Year Kageyama Tobio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:35:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 32,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28963260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/d_bxrh/pseuds/d_bxrh
Summary: Hinata and Kageyama enter their third year of school at Karasuno. Both have to deal with a realization they made and how it affects their friendship.-Tobio took out his phone and googled ‘am I gay’ to see if anything happened to overlap with his friendship to Hinata. Just to be sure. After thorough research he concluded he was in fact not gay. After observations in his everyday life he had to correct his conclusion. He was totally gay.-He imagined kissing Soma. He couldn’t care less. He imagined someone else kissing her. Same result. He imagined Kageyama kissing Soma and suddenly he cared very much. If he didn’t care if he or other people kissed Soma but did care if Kageyama kissed Soma, did that mean… “Holy Shit maybe I like Kageyama!”, Shoyo exclaimed and yeeted himself on the bed next to him.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio
Comments: 24
Kudos: 118





	1. Shoyo

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry for any grammatical errors or false use of words. I blame it all on English not being my first language. 
> 
> I tried to be as canon as possible but obviously there could be / are a few changes. I don't play volleyball and only know a little about Japanese culture so sorry if there are any mistakes in describing that. Also, I use a lot of swear words so be aware of that.
> 
> This is my first story, so bear with me.

Another year of school has started and Shoyo could finally play volleyball with his friends again. Not that he stopped playing over the break but still, he missed the official practice and the matches. Moreover, Shoyo was now a third year which means he was a senpai to nearly everybody in the team. Which was so cool! Well, to his fellow third years he wasn’t a senpai. He stopped in his tracks. His fellow third years. Kageyama is probably already near the classroom, today Shoyo was a little late. Shoyo slowly started to walk again and played with the keychain hanging from his bag. Thinking of Kageyama made him remember something. Over the break he had an interesting and horrifying little chat with his younger sister Natsu which involved said teammate. 

“Wow they look so cute together!” Natsu exclaimed. Her big eyes looked dreamily towards the bride and her groom. Shoyo nodded and stared at his cousin. She was a few years older, so it wasn’t odd for her to already get married. The soon-to-be Husband put the ring on their cousin’s finger and they kissed. Shoyo was happy for the two. They were High School sweethearts and had talked about getting married for a long time already. His focus drifted from the newlyweds to his own non-existent lovelife. He wondered when he will get married. If things continued as they do now, he will be single until he was old and wrinkled. Apparently, his sister had similar thoughts because she turned to Shoyo and asked: “When will you finally have a girlfriend Shoyo? You know, Mum and I are waiting…”. Shoyo turned away and felt his face get hot. Usually he didn’t think about stuff like love and relationships. There was always volleyball. But on a day like this he couldn’t not think about it. He had kissed some girls at parties or other occasions, but he never got the feeling that doing that, or even more, was something he wanted to spend time on when he could use said time to play volleyball with Kageyama and his team instead. Ergo there was no need for a girlfriend. 

Natsu studied his face and smirked. “Or you could also bring a boyfriend you know. We wouldn’t care either way.” Shoyo nearly fell from his chair and let out a little scream. Other guests turned to them with irritated faces and Shoyo quickly whispered in Natsu’s direction that she should shut up. Natsu just smirked again and involved their parents in the conversation: “Mum, Dad what would you say if Shoyo brought home a certain black-haired boy with blue eyes instead of a girlfriend?”. Both of their parents seemed surprised but were fast to change the surprise in their face into a loving smile: “Shoyo we love you just the way you are don’t you worry. You can talk to us whenever you want. And Kageyama-kun is always welcome. Right Honey?”. His mum smiled at him and nudged his dad in his side to signal him to say something as well: “Uhhh… Yes, of course. Who is this Kageyama-kun? A friend from school?” His dad looked confused. He was a genius at many things but noticing the obvious wasn’t one of his strengths. Shoyo on the other hand nearly had a heart attack and tried to dodge the question of his father: “Natsu stop spouting nonsense, Kageyama is just a friend!” He tried to emphasize the word friend but failed to realize that somehow his reply was more mumbled than actually pronounced clearly. On top of that his face was becoming the colour of tomatoes. His mother didn’t look convinced, so he just averted his eyes. Natsu did change the topic to the beautiful dress of their cousin but for the rest of the day she had a smirk on her face and every so often studied Shoyo with a knowing look.

When they both lay in their beds in the hotelroom Shoyo cleared his throat: “Why did you do that?”. Natsu groaned and turned on her other side as loud as possible to look away from Shoyo: “Shut up I want to sleep.” Shoyo didn’t care and repeated his question. “Are you talking about exposing your boyfriend?”, Natsu giggled and turned back around, grinning with an evil smile. Her brother had to concentrate hard not to full on scream at her. With a pressed voice he answered: “What the fuck, he’s not my boyfriend. I like girls… If you want to know I kissed many of them. And more.” His sister grimaced: “Ewwww Shoyo!! I did NOT want to know that!! Gross. Kiss ‘and more’ whoever you like I don’t care but don’t ever tell me about it! I just mentioned Kageyama-san because you two see each other like all the time and have this volleyball thing with each other. It’s hard not to think that kind of stuff, especially after seeing you play together. Now shut up I want to sleep!”. Once more, she turned away from Shoyo and he knew this time it was final and if he dared to talk to her again she would go directly to their parents. She might look like an angel but she was anything but that. 

So Shoyo was left with his thoughts alone. Kageyama and him didn’t act like a couple, right? At most a couple of besties. But why would his mum and his dad believe his devil sister so readily? These and similar thoughts accompanied him to sleep. In the morning he didn’t remember most of it.  
But now he certainly did. Stupid Natsu. There was no way he had feelings for Kageyama. Shoyo was pretty sure he wasn’t gay. Especially not for Kageyama. The King was his amazing setter in Volleyball but nothing more. He called him idiot and moron and was always angry at him. No way Shoyo would like such a person in a romantic way. How could not only Natsu, but his parents too, think it could be anything other than a friendship. Was it even a friendship? They were rivals first and foremost. He turned around the corner and saw Kageyama standing in front of a vending machine. As he took his milk (today it was strawberry flavoured) out of the tray he saw Shoyo and waved. Shoyo smiled and waved back. He quickly forgot what he was just thinking about and on the way to their classroom, he started talking endlessly about his break and the wedding he attended with his family. 

When he arrived at the most important part of the story, the kiss between bride and groom, he remembered the weird conversation with Natsu again and stopped his endless narrating. He glanced around the school while Kageyama looked down at him with a confused look on his face. It wasn’t normal for Shoyo to stop midway in a story. Somehow, he couldn’t look Kageyama in the eyes anymore when he thought about what Natsu implied with her comments. Shoyo liking Kageyama not as a friend but as something more. Them looking like a couple. What would Kageyama think of him if he knew about this? “Oy, stop playing with your keychain idiot, it annoys me.” Kageyama stood next to him, fists clenched, probably trying his best not to snatch the keychain from his bag and tossing it into the next garbage bin. Shoyo stopped walking and looked down at his hands. He didn’t remember starting to fidget with his keychain. “If it bothers you that much get me a new one that doesn’t make a sound when I play with it.”, Shoyo replied and let go of the bicycle shaped keychain. The keychain had a stupid little bell next to the bicycle, so he knew why Kageyama was annoyed. The sound annoyed him too. He only had the keychain because he found his bag easier with it when he had to put it down somewhere and he was too lazy to buy a new one. 

Kageyama shook his head, looked away and muttered something along the lines of “as if” and “stupid idiot”. Shoyo rolled his eyes and started walking again. To prevent himself from playing with the keychain he clenched his fists together and concentrated hard on keeping them that way. He tried to pick up where he left of but somehow couldn’t get back into the story. Normally talking to Kageyama was easy and fun but now everything he thought about telling his friend led back to him thinking about Natsu’s statement, so he just stayed quiet. Better keeping his mouth shut than reveal anything about these implications to Kageyama and risk losing his setter. Stupid Natsu. Kageyama stared at him expectantly and when he didn’t continue his story he looked down at the ground with a funny look on his face. It almost seemed like Kageyama expected him to continue. But Shoyo couldn’t, not if he wanted to risk Kageyama figuring things out. Shoyo waited for him to ask or tell something himself but Kageyama stayed quiet. Without another word they arrived at the classroom and sat down on their respective seats. The bell rang and the class started.

Shoyo sighed. While he took his notebook and some pens out of his bag, he thought about what just happened some more. He couldn’t ignore or forget the statement from Natsu any longer. As soon as he thought about Kageyama, Natsu’s comment came to mind as well, which resulted in Shoyo getting terrified that Kageyama could somehow figure it out. He wasn’t aware that he was overthinking everything way too much and came to the conclusion that he would have to restrict himself talking to Kageyama. Volleyball practice should be fine, Shoyo tended to only think about volleyball there anyway but in school he would have to talk less to Kageyama. 

Shoyo was still pondering strategies to avoid revealing anything when he was interrupted by a person next to him clearing their throat. He looked up and saw his teacher staring at him. He had completely forgotten to listen to the class. He glanced around him and saw that everybody else was already paired up, working on an assignment. Fuck he missed something big. He tried to come up with an excuse but only managed to stutter some random words which probably made him even more guilty. There was no way the teacher wouldn’t notice that his mind was absent the whole time. He felt his ears grow hot and scratched the back of his head. The teacher sighed and gestured to the pair sitting closest to him: “Just pair up with those two, they can explain the task.”. Shoyo gratefully jumped up from his chair and moved to the pair the teacher assigned him to. He was relieved that his teacher seemed to be in a good mood today. But his eyes widened when he saw that his partner was none other than Kageyama. Just Great. It wasn’t that he didn’t like working with him, normally he would enjoy it a lot. However, his newly worked out masterplan intended him to speak less to Kageyama. He tried to calm himself down by convincing himself that working together would restrict them talking about the assignment and nothing else. This made him approach his classmates a little calmer.

“Uhm hey, I’m with you two apparently. Sorry for joining so late”, Shoyo said and pulled a nearby chair to the table. He sat down and looked at the other person in the group. He recognized her as Soma and was quite sure she was popular in class. Soma smiled at Shoyo and welcomed him in the group. While she was explaining their workload Shoyo tried not to look at Kageyama, but he couldn’t stop himself from stealing a few glances. He noted that Kageyama was focused on looking straight down on his notebook as if his life depended on it. Kageyama seemed stressed out for some reason. He wasn’t the only one. Soma had to explain Shoyo the task about four times before he finally figured out what to do. It was a wonder Soma wasn’t already screaming at him, but she seemed to have good patience. Shoyo smiled and thanked her for it. Without her this would be really awkward and he doubted that Kageyama could actually explain something to him. He probably didn’t get it as well. 

When the class finished Shoyo got up and sprinted to the bathroom. He needed a break from everything. Soon he had to play with Kageyama on the court and he couldn’t let these thoughts distract him while playing volleyball. He was fairly sure he could forget them while playing but he was still nervous about it. He let out some cold water and splashed it in his face. He got this. He picked up his bag and walked out of the bathroom.


	2. Tobio

Tobio was already doing his third jump serve when Hinata finally arrived in the gym. He seemed a little distraught. Tobio looked away and concentrated on his jump instead. Hinata has been behaving strange the whole day which left Tobio feeling irritated because he had been looking forward to seeing his friend again. The day started off great and Hinata told him all about his break. Then he went on about a wedding and suddenly stopped talking to him. The frustration made him hit the ball even harder than usual. Did Tobio do something weird again? Outside of Volleyball he just didn’t always know how to act. In class they partnered up but Hinata seemed even more distracted than normally. Tobio knew that he wasn’t the brightest student himself but even he understood the assignment after Soma explained it for the second time. The idiot next to him took four explanations. The sound of Yamaguchi’s voice stopped his train of thought: “Okay gather around everyone. The new first years just arrived.” Tobio realised he was just standing there, the volleyball he served lying somewhere on the other side of the court. At least he knew that he managed to hit it over the net. Ignoring his embarrassment of standing there like a lamppost he jogged over to his new captain and watched as everyone drew nearer. 

The new first years looked promising and one player even wanted to be a Libero which was good because Nishinoya left last year. Kageyama sighed. Nishinoya has been a valuable player and even if the new player was good, he probably wouldn’t be as good as Nishinoya. Already Tobio was thinking about how they would have to change their gameplay. Everybody should work on their overall defensive skills to make up for the lack of Nishinoya and Ennoshita. To top it off, Tanaka left a hole in their offence as well. Without the official Ace of Karasuno it would be harder to score points. Maybe he could use Hinata a little more as a decoy so the other hitters had more of a chance of getting a hit in without getting blocked. A familiar voice shook him out of his strategizing: “Kageyama don’t look so grim you scare the first years”. Tobio whipped his head in Hinata’s direction: “Shut the fuck up, I’m just thinking you idiot!” As he lunged his leg out to kick Hinata, Tsukishima sighed and declared to the first years:” These are our simpletons, they share a braincell and unfortunately are skilled at volleyball, so they are still allowed here.”. The new team members stood there astonished and with open mouths. Yamaguchi tried to soften the statement and told them that everybody was allowed in the team and they would all work hard to win but Tobio was too busy trying to hit Hinata to know what he said afterwards. At least at volleyball their interactions seemed the same as always. 

After Training Tobio almost had the feeling that everything was back to normal but Hinata was already out of the clubroom and on his bike when Tobio tried to speak to him. Tobio clenched his bag in his hand and huffed. “Well, someone’s in a good mood today”, he heard a voice next to him call out. Tobio looked up and saw Tsukishima grinning at him: “Trouble in paradise?”. Tobio scuffed his eyebrows together and glared at his fellow team member. “What? How…? Idiot! What the fuck are you talking about, idiot?”, Tobio managed to snap back, which resulted in Tsukishima grinning even wider. Truth was that the question hit a little too close to home. Even though Hinata and him argued all the time it was never (or nearly never) serious. For Hinata to run away and ignore him was new. “Your vocabulary is as extensive as ever”, retorted Tsukishima and let himself be pulled away by an apologetic Yamaguchi who tried to calm Tobio down: “Sorry for this smartass Kageyama, don’t mind him!”. Tobio heard the two debating about Tsukishima being a smartass as they went out of the clubroom and headed towards the school gate. Why did he get so angry about one of Tsukishima’s comments anyways? Usually, he was really good at ignoring his sharp remarks but today he just wasn’t in the mood to restrain himself. He kicked his locker and let out a deep breath. This was not how he imagined this day to go at all. He picked up his bag and locked up the clubroom.

When he arrived home the house was empty. He went to the kitchen table and found a note from Miwa: Tobio-chan. Mum and Dad are gone again. I made some dinner. It’s in the fridge. Help yourself. It was normal for his parents to be out a lot. They both worked in high positions and had to be at meetings or business trips until late in the evening or over weekends. Usually, they let Miwa look over Tobio since she was older than him. But other than Tobio she had an existing social life and was out with her friends often. He took the carefully prepared meatballs out of the fridge and sat down to eat them. He didn’t mind that Miwa was out having fun, normally he would still be playing volleyball with Hinata. But because Hinata took off so fast today he was home early and felt a little lonely. He huffed and finished eating the meatballs. Maybe Hinata was just nervous because it was their last year at Karasuno and the last chance to win Nationals. But then he would train with Kageyama, right? He ignored the ache in his chest and went to sleep early. Tomorrow everything would be back to normal.

However, the next day went about the same way as the last. As did the next two weeks to be exact. During volleyball Hinata seemed to be relaxed and everything appeared to be normal but as soon as practice ended, Hinata went out of his way to avoid speaking to him. Tobio found himself getting angry at the smallest things and huffing became his top activity next to volleyball. In the evenings he was training alone and that made the lonely feeling inside him deepen. While Hinata was behaving normally during training, Tobio was distracted and his performance dropped. Mainly because he couldn’t ignore the change in Hinata’s behaviour outside practice. Why was Hinata treating him this way? He didn’t do anything to offend him. The quick attacks with Hinata were failing more often than not and even the normal setting tosses were getting worse. He recognized that but as much as he tried to go back to his usual sets it just wouldn’t work out. He was sure the others noticed as well but at least they stayed quiet about it for now. Even Hinata who normally would be the first to complain said nothing. 

After another horrendous set an unsettling thought crossed Tobio’s mind. Could it be that, …? Tobio shook his head and tried concentrating on setting the ball again. But it was obviously not working. If Hinata couldn’t get his tosses he would be alone again. If he got worse the whole team would leave him. After yet another awful toss he stomped his foot on the ground and let out a frustrated scream. The whole gym went quiet and several heads turned his way. Hinata, who was mid-air, was so shocked that he became tangled in the net. Before the others had the chance to question him, he was out of the gym and in the clubroom. He leaned against his locker and sank to the ground. Tobio put his face in his hands and could feel how hot his face was. Tears tried to roll down his cheeks but he wouldn’t let them. He had tried so hard to not let his feelings bother him but it’s impossible. Especially now that Hinata decided to ignore him, possibly because of said feelings. 

“Shiiiiiiit!!!!” Hinata screamed and let himself fall on the ground. Tobio could see tears glittering in Hinata’s eyes. They worked so hard and yet it wasn’t enough. They knew their opponents were strong. They knew that after last years practice match. But still. Loosing to Date Tech was hard. He looked over to the third years which were trying hard not to totally lose control. Tanaka was hugging Nishinoya so hard that Tobio was scared he would get squeezed to death soon. They both screamed unintelligible words. Tobio could feel his own tears running down his face. Ennoshita was the only one who had himself under control: “Let’s clear the court, another play is about to start.”. He visibly shook but slowly collected all team members and steered them off the court. Tobio looked to Hinata again. He looked like he could use a hug. Tobio felt his face get hot. It’s not like they haven’t hugged before but he never consciously thought about giving Hinata a hug. He looked away quickly. What was he thinking about? The reason for wanting to hug this idiot is simply because they lost. Still… He couldn’t overthink any further because suddenly a smaller figure was there hugging him. “Kageyama! Next time we won’t lose! We’re still going to nationals!”, Hinata was yelling between sobs. Tobio stood still, not moving a muscle. Hinata’s arms were around his torso and he could feel his fluffy hair on his chin. Even after this intense match he still could smell the shampoo Hinata used. It smelled good. He knew he was blushing. “Y-Yeah, S-Sure-“, he stuttered and quickly looked around but nobody noticed the two boys, too busy dealing with their own breakdown. He looked down at his teammates head and let himself smile. Nobody else got such a hug from Hinata today and for some reason it made him happy.

When he was at home in his room he started thinking about that hug again. Why was he so happy that only he got such a hug from Hinata? He heard a knocking on his door and his sister Miwa appeared on the doorstep: “Hey Tobio-Chan, are you okay? You seem even more quiet than usual. Is it only because you lost? You will have another chance at the spring tournament.”. It was clear she was trying to cheer him up and Tobio appreciated that. He blinked and shook his head. “No, it’s actually not that. I’m just thinking about the hug Hinata gave me”, responded Tobio, wording his thoughts too quickly to stop himself. He was setting his volleyball to himself and concentrated on the ball. Miwa squealed, which resulted in Tobio flinching and the volleyball falling on his face. Both stayed silent for a bit, Tobio rubbing his face and reaching for the volleyball on the floor. Then Miwa declared: “So Tobio-Chan is in gay panic mode now.” She was normally a great sister but currently a big annoyance. Her smug look angered Tobio to no end. “I’m in fucking what now??”, he roared and shot the volleyball into Miwa’s face. The girl dodged effortlessly, having already anticipated the reaction of her brother and explained in a singsong voice: “Well it just seems like you really like Hinata and if you’re overthinking him hugging you… It just sounds like you have a crush on him is all, I didn’t mean to be rude… Anyway, I’m going to sleep good night Tobii-chaaan.”. 

Tobio was dumbfounded and didn’t move for a while. He heard Miwa walk to her room and mumbling something about ‘gay brother’ and ‘getting a boyfriend before me’, which made him snap out of his stupor. Miwa thought he was gay and that he liked Hinata. All just because of a Hug? He jumped out of his bed and ran up to his sister. He blocked the door to her room and glared at her: “what makes you think me wanting to hug my teammate after we lost a game that could have brought us to nationals makes me gay?”. Miwa looked at him and snickered: “Oh wow, got your tongue back?”. Tobio stayed still and expectantly stared his sister down. After a moment she sighed and leaned on the wall opposite the door. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way. It’s just…I don’t know you two seem pretty close? I saw a lot of your matches and you two have this weird, special connection.” Miwa looked down and shrugged her shoulders. Tobio frowned and crossed his arms: “Well yeah, we’re partners. In Volleyball you have to work together. And he’s just so fast and can jump high so we can do a special quick attack. But like that’s only volleyball? I’m also close with everybody else on the team.”. 

He eyed Miwa who smiled and glanced up again: “Yeah sure. But there are other things. You two always seem to know where the other is. I saw you glancing at him quite often and you always have this warm look on your face when you’re with him. If you’re telling me something about your friends it’s always about him and you seem to spend all your time with Hinata as well. And before you say anything I know you’re practicing but come on. You’re even smiling now when I talk about it.” Tobio quickly hid his smile and pouted: “Even if that is true, it doesn’t mean I have a crush on him. We are friends. You know it’s kind of hard for me to find friends so I guess I just like this one?”. Miwa chuckled and agreed. “I mean that’s fair. I just had a feeling. And you never brought a girlfriend over, let alone showed interest in a girl. I guess I just kind of assumed. Doesn’t mean I’m right but like I’m a lot more intelligent than you and especially with people stuff I know everything better.” Miwa knew she was being glared down again but she didn’t care. “And here I thought we had a nice conversation”, her brother growled in her direction. He had done some things with girls. But it just didn’t seem to be all that great to him. He didn’t know what the big deal about it was. Especially compared to Volleyball. Miwa knew that Tobio was a big dummy, so she just shrugged again. He continued: “Well I don’t have time for stuff like that anyway, it would take away time for volleyball.” Now Miwa full out laughed: “Idiot. Well, I guess I can’t help you then. But Tobio? You know, I don’t care if you like girls or boys. I just want you to be happy.” What the hell. Since when was Miwa that sappy and spreads wholesomeness into the family? She pressed herself of the wall and sidestepped into her room to escape her brother as long as he still was distracted.

Distracted Tobio was indeed. He didn’t even realise when she shut the door. Did he really do all those things with Hinata? When he finally slowly walked down the hallway and back into his room a few minutes had passed. He sat down on his bed. Tobio took out his phone and googled ‘am I gay’ to see if anything happened to overlap with his friendship to Hinata. Just to be sure. After thorough research he concluded he was in fact not gay. After observations in his everyday life he had to correct his conclusion. He was totally gay. 

Ever since he realised his crush he tried to hide it. He didn’t want to scare Hinata away, he was still his best and nearly only friend. But based on the recent behaviour of his friend it looked like he achieved exactly that. And he didn’t even know what he did that exposed him and his feelings. “Hey Bakageyama, why were you running away?”. Tobio flinched. Speaking of the devil. Hinata walked into the clubroom and started changing. Tobio only shrugged and tried to not look like he had a mental breakdown and stood up as the rest of the team arrived as well.


	3. Shoyo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be underage drinking in this chapter because drinking age in Japan is 20 (i think?) and some of the characters are 17. As for an explanation why I still included it: in my country the drinking age for most stuff is 18 and the drinking age for beer and wine is 16. They do drink beer in this story, so in my eyes the actions in this chapter are nothing weird or unusual. Honestly, I was just in the mood to make them drink something at a party. I'm sorry for anybody who feels weird or uncomfortable reading this because of that.

Shoyo looked over to Kageyama who was slowly getting up the floor. After he ran out of the gym, angry as he was, everyone was shell-shocked. Luckily, practice time was over anyway so the weird silence didn’t linger too long. 

After the first day of school Shoyo had too many thoughts so he went home as soon as possible. Like he predicted, while he played volleyball he forgot about everything not volleyball related and all the interactions with Kageyama went flawless. He didn’t know why the conversation at the wedding impacted him so much and most of all now of all times. Why not have a crisis after the wedding? Well, now that he remembered correctly, he did have that as well but forgot about it. He went over the whole conversation again. Natsu told him that Kageyama and him had this special bond or friendship or whatever. When he was completely honest with himself, he could admit that he considered Kageyama his best friend. After the initial hate they had for each other their rivalry soon became friendship. They still competed everywhere they could, but they supported each other as well. Shoyo trusted in Kageyama because he knows the ball will come to him. Over the years his trust in Kageyama wasn’t constricted to the court. Romantic feelings, however, were something completely different. 

Over the following week the thought didn’t leave him alone. Which was ridiculous. He was nearly 18 so he did have some experience with girls and definitely enjoyed it. Then why didn’t the thought leave him alone? Because of this, sleeping became difficult for Shoyo. He couldn’t fall asleep and when he finally did, waking up turned out to be the next problem. His weird sleep schedule resulted in tiredness and he could concentrate even less in school. When playing volleyball, he missed the ball more and more and his level of receiving fell back to his first year level. First year level before nationals. No wonder Kageyama got so angry before.

After all teammates arrived in the clubhouse everybody except Kageyama was talking loudly with each other. His anger tantrum seemed to be forgotten or collectively ignored. “So Hinata, Kageyama you’re coming as well, right?”, Yamaguchi asked a clueless Shoyo and judging from the face he was making, an even more clueless Kageyama. Hinata hadn’t even time to ask what Yamaguchi was talking about before Tsukishima stated: “Yamaguchi don’t be mean they are probably not even invited”. Kageyama glared at Tsukishima but before he could curse Tsukishima down with his usual ‘Idiot’ , ‘Moron’ and ‘Shut the fuck up’ Yamaguchi explained that all third years where invited. “Where to?”, asked Kageyama before lowering his head and adding: “Nevermind, I won’t come.”. Yamaguchi sighed and answered: “Terushima’s Birthday Party this weekend. He invited practically everyone he played against last year as well as the year before that. Even some other people who didn’t play volleyball. Daichi, Suga and Asahi will be there as well. I don’t know how or why he does this but I’m not going to miss it. I can just imagine all the people that are going to be there”. Tsukishima rolled his eyes but everyone knew he would go as well. Where Yamaguchi went, Tsukishima went as well. Shoyo got excited. A Birthday Party. That surely is going to be amazing and will also lift his mood. He turned around to convince Kageyama to come as well but the setter was already gone. He was about to run to catch up with him when he remembered that he was currently trying to not talk to him. But even in his current situation Shoyo didn’t want to go alone. He wanted Kageyama along with him. Before he could change his mind, he grabbed his stuff and sprinted out of the clubroom to catch up to Kageyama.

“Wait Bakageyama!”, Shoyo shouted and finally, at the entrance gate of the school, he caught up to Kageyama. Kageyama stared at him and murmured something under his breath. Shoyo was quite sure he heard the word idiot. He ignored the comment and asked him to join in on going to the party. He could see Kageyama tense up and hold his breath. “I’m not really a sociable person in case you haven’t noticed.”. Shoyo snorted. “Well, you will be with the team and me. So… you don’t have to meet new persons if you don’t want to.” He looked up into Kageyama’s eyes. It felt weird to talk to him again. He missed it. But as soon as he thought that he remembered the masterplan for keeping his setter. He couldn’t let Kageyama find out or he won’t like him anymore. Shoyo could only imagine what Kageyama would say and he didn’t like it at all. Shoyo blinked and then shrugged his shoulders: “But I guess you don’t have to come if you don’t want to”. He steered towards his bike and was about to drive away when he heard Kageyama yell: “Why do you even care, I thought you don’t like me anymore”. That made Shoyo freeze. He stood still and swallowed. Kageyama thought he didn’t like him anymore? Slowly he turned around to see an uncertain look on his friend’s face. That was rare. “What?” The uncertainty on Kageyama’s face gave way to anger, annoyance and something else Shoyo couldn’t quite identify. The setter’s voice was monotone when he spoke: “You know exactly what I’m talking about”. Shoyo’s mouth formed a circle and he let out a little ‘oh’. He stared at his shoes when he answered: “It’s not like that.” He couldn’t tell Kageyama why he didn’t talk to him at the moment.

When he finally looked the setter in the eyes he swallowed again. Did he see hurt in there? He knew Kageyama mustered his entire courage when he asked his next question: “Then what’s it like? Why won’t you talk to me anymore? Did I do something wrong?” Shoyo winced. If Kageyama of all people was hurt by his actions he knew he fucked up. “Well it’s not your fault it’s mine.” Such a clichéd answer. Why couldn’t he do better? Kageyama crossed his arms before his chest and frowned. “Wow thanks Hinata, that explains a lot! Geez, I shouldn’t have worried. My volleyball play can go back to normal!” Oh Shit, Kageyama is using sarcasm. This is bad. Shoyo winced again. He scratched his head and cleared his throat. “I’m sorry I didn’t think that far.”, he managed to bring out and ignored the ‘how surprising, idiot’ coming from Kageyama. “Well, you really don’t have to worry and it’s me being bad at volleyball not you. I kind of suck at the moment”, Shoyo finished his explanation. That got Kageyama’s attention. They both fell silent for a while before Kageyama (how is he talking so much? And without screaming?) sighed and said: “No it’s definitely me sucking at practice.” Shoyo looked at Kageyama with disbelief. Kageyama just said he sucked at volleyball. The conversation about volleyball calmed Shoyo down a little and he started an argument with Kageyama about who sucked the most at volleyball. It was special because this was the first time they argued about who of them fucked up more instead of offending the other one. After a while they settled on ‘we both fucked up’ which was another rare thing.

Surprised with the development of their argument Shoyo decided it was best to let Kageyama know at least a little bit. His masterplan was not so perfect as he had believed it to be. “So Kageyama I guess I didn’t talk with you because I kind of didn’t want you to find out something? It’s nothing bad I just don’t want you to think weird of me.”, Shoyo confessed. They were walking home together now and he pushed his bike next to him. Kageyama gave him a sideway glance before answering: “You didn’t want me to find out something?”. Shoyo shrugged and laughed: “Yeah well it was a little embarrassing. But I think I can forget about it now, so you don’t have to worry anymore.”. And he meant that. He would just have to try harder to forget about everything. Not talking to Kageyama was way worse. That’s what Shoyo decided on anyways. How could he have been so stupid. Glad Kageyama seemed only relieved they were talking again instead of being angry at him he grinned at Kageyama who seemed taken aback with that but then tentatively smiled. Over the years he started to do that and Shoyo was happy about every single one of those smiles. They even turned from scary to kind of cute. Shoyo shook his head and gave Kageyama a thumb up which made him snort. Then Shoyo reminded why he ran out to talk to the setter in the first place. He asked him to come to the party again. “Alright I’ll come, idiot.”. Shoyo could feel a big smile growing on his face. “It will be awesome!”.

\---

They arrived at the party late. Which is never a good idea, especially when it’s a party by Terushima. Everybody already drank a certain percentage of alcohol. Well, nearly everybody. There where a few responsible people out there (namely Asahi and Daichi) who seemed completely sober. While Shoyo immediately snatched himself a beer, Kageyama looked unsure what to think of the party. Shoyo held a beer out for Kageyama who declined it. Shoyo should have thought so, so he just shrugged his shoulders and continued walking around with two beers. Kageyama even coming to the party was something to celebrate, he would not risk him going home early. Shoyo took a few sips from his beers. He wouldn’t be the only sober person at this party (he didn’t count Asahi, Daichi and Kageyama) so he had a little catching up to do. They were lucky to ran into their old teammates early on and continued to spend their time with them. Which was a good idea because even Kageyama seemed to relax with them and enjoy his time.

“Well, well, well if it isn’t the former Karasuno team.” Terushima appeared out of nowhere and leaned on Hinata. He got welcomed a lot more enthusiastic than he would have been if everybody were sober. He spread his arms and turned around himself. A loud laugh escaped his lips and then he followed up with the suggestion that changed everything: “How about a little fun. I take that really serious, you know. I just gathered some other players for an epic battle of bravery. We will play Truth or Dare!” Terushima’s words slurred together and it was a wonder everybody understood him. Tsukishima, even in his drunk state, couldn’t resist adding a snide comment: “Isn’t that something you play when you’re 12?” He lifted one of his eyebrows and it was not only Yamaguchi who laughed at that. Terushima clicked his tongue and leaned closer in: “Well a lot of cute girls agreed to play so I would recommend you to join us”. You could practically see Tanaka and Nishinoya perk up at this. Daichi just sighed as if everything was already decided. Which it was, because Suga beamed and tugged a frowning Asahi with him and everybody followed. Shoyo took a quick look at Kageyama who frowned but stayed silent. When Shoyo grabbed him by his arm and pulled him along there was a little sound escaping his mouth but Kageyama decided to ignore it and Shoyo didn’t hear it. 

When they arrived there were already a lot of people assembled. Shoyo took a look around and detected a lot of people he knew from tournaments. Amongst the crowd he could also see some players from Aoba Johsei. Iwaizumi and Oikawa sat there talking to each other, both had a beverage in their hands and where seemingly in a good mood. Alarmed Shoyo turned around to look at Kageyama. But he only raised his eyebrows and sat down next to Tanaka. Wow. That’s some character development. Shoyo lowered himself next to Kageyama when he recognised another face. “Oh hey Soma!”, he grinned at the girl. That got Kageyama’s attention and he turned his head. When he saw Soma he nodded at her and looked down again. Weird. Shoyo didn’t know Kageyama and Soma were so close. Why did it bother him a little? The game apparently had already begun, so they were able to witness a guy breakdancing and a girl singing at the top of her lungs. Terushima covered his ears and grimaced. Then he declared: “Karasuno has arrived. So, I will personally see them welcomed.” He grinned, Daichi buried his face in his hands and shook his head while Suga patted his arm with a devious look on his face, the other members smiled dumbly and Asahi looked like he would like to run away. 

“First off all Chibi-chan. I want to know how many girls you hooked up with!” Terushima pointed a finger at Hinata who nearly choked to death from the beer he was drinking. He put down his beer and retorted: “Shouldn’t there be a choice in Truth or Dare, hence the name Truth or Dare?” Terushima waved his hand and declared the original version boring. Shoyo declared Terushima stupid. Kageyama grunted and declared everything stupid which got a laughter from Soma and a confused smile from Kageyama. Did Kageyama like Soma? The thought came to him instantly and his mood soured instantly as well. What is happening to him today. He looked up to Terushima and tried to answer as indifferent as possible: “Well, I mean I can talk about it. I think it’s about five or six?” Now it was Kageyama’s turn to choke on his (nonalcoholic) drink. Shoyo could feel himself getting red and picked his beer back up to distract him a bit. Suga frowned while Tanaka gave him a high five, calling him playboy. He heard some cheers and then Suga’s voice disrupting them: “If we talk about hooking up, do we talk about going all the way? Because that’s what I think hooking up means…”

The room goes quiet again only to hear Daichi sighing deep. Suga always had this mischievous side to him. Damn him. Shoyo looked around and everybody decided in unison to side with Suga. Except maybe Daichi and Asahi who appeared to be on nobody’s side. Shoyo glared at everyone then groaned. He looked at Kageyama for help but his friend looked away and murmured so only Shoyo could hear: “Easy question, idiot. Don’t chicken out.” Shoyo wanted to say something but just gaped at the setter. Was he interested as well? But he couldn’t chicken out now, not when Kageyama challenged him so clearly. Shoyo fake coughed a little to buy him time to prepare himself. Then he quickly answered the open question in the room with the number 3. Shoyo quickly looked to Kageyama part to show him he went through with the challenge and part to see his reaction. Kageyama seemed to have become a stone und his cup was on the verge of being crushed. Did Hinata actually have more experience than Kageyama? Kageyama was so beautiful and sexy he just always assumed he had the girls all over him. But he did have his problem with social interactions. So maybe that’s why? Either way Shoyo won so he was a little proud of himself. Everybody else seemed to be content with the answer as well and the game shifted to other players. When he heard some of the other Truths or Dares, Shoyo was glad he ended up with his own one, there were some crazy people playing today.

The Game was actually quite fun when you’re not the victim of everyone’s entertainment so Shoyo enjoyed himself and even Kageyama chuckled from time to time. Nice. Kageyama stopped chuckling when it was his turn. “I dare you to kiss Soma!”. Shoyo didn’t even register who made the dare. His cup stayed halfway on the way to his mouth and he eyed Soma and Kageyama. Both of them were extremely red in the face. Kageyama’s eyes darted around and he seemed unsure how to behave. Soma was flustered but assured Kageyama that she was okay with that. Shoyo nearly snorted. Of course she was. It was Kageyama. Then Shoyo did something he couldn’t explain even if he wanted to. Maybe it was the alcohol. “Don’t chicken out, idiot”, he whispered to his friend. Kageyama seemed shocked and overwhelmed by the entire situation. But a challenge against Shoyo was a something he couldn’t give up upon and he stood up and walked towards Soma. Shoyo wanted to look away and stare at it at the same time.

Kageyama raised his hand and shyly put it on Somas cheek. He looked at her to get consent which she gave with a little nod of her head. He got closer and she closed her eyes. Then it happened. Kageyama’s lips landed on Soma’s and they kissed. It was a soft kiss and by the looks of it a good one. Shoyo spilled the rest of his drink on himself. He quickly stood up and fled the scene. He was looking for the bathroom to get his pants in order. He ended up in a bedroom. He couldn’t forget the kiss he just witnessed. Why did he care so much? It was good for Kageyama right? Because he liked Soma. Then why was he so upset? Did he like Soma? He imagined kissing Soma. He couldn’t care less. He imagined someone else kissing her. Same result. He imagined Kageyama kissing Soma and suddenly he cared very much. If he didn’t care if he or other people kissed Soma but did care if Kageyama kissed Soma, did that mean… “Holy Shit maybe I like Kageyama!”, Shoyo exclaimed and yeeted himself on the bed next to him.


	4. Tobio

Tobio knew it was a mistake to come to the party. But he couldn’t resist when Hinata asked him like that. Now he stood here kissing Soma. Which wasn’t bad, to give her credit. But it also wasn’t exactly what he wanted to do either. So when they finished he quickly turned around to go back to Hinata, only to see that the idiot wasn’t even there anymore. Great. Tobio was only here because of Hinata. If he wouldn’t have persuaded him to go, he wouldn’t had to kiss Soma. He also wouldn’t had to learn with how many girls Hinata had hooked up with. Special thanks to Suga, he even knew with how many of them he went all the way. It was all a little too much for him now. He pondered what he should do. He did like his former team but the majority of it was already pretty drunk (Hinata was too but that was different) and Daichi and Asahi only talked about their jobs and if Tobio had to hear one more word about the problems of parking fees or the stress of changing a suit last minute he will go insane. So Tobio did the only logical thing to him at that moment. He fled to the bathroom. 

As soon as he entered, he locked the door and looked in the mirror. His face was white and he looked rattled. He took a few deep breaths and sat on the toilet seat. For some reason he was nearly crying. What the fuck. Why did he want to cry? Because that game kind of showed him that Hinata was straight and he would never have a chance with him? He knew that before. This evening is just further proof. Together with the stress of the last weeks and half a year of hiding his feelings it was becoming hard to hold back his tears. He took a deep breath and concentrated on something positive. Playing volleyball. Drinking Milk. Hinata’s Smile. Fuck. He shook his head and sighed. 

A few moments later someone tried to come in but obviously failed because of the locked door. Tobio stared at the door and waited for the person to go away. But there was a parade of knocks and Hinata’s voice sounded from outside, slightly panicked: “Please whoever you are I need to wash my pants they are soaked so hurry the fuck up”. Slowly Tobio sat up and turned the key. He might as well let him in. He motioned a mouth-wide-open-Hinata to come inside and Hinata slipped in while Tobio locked the door again. Hinata just stood there and asked: “Are you okay? You look like you saw a ghost.”. Tobio stared at Hinata. “I could ask the same thing.” Hinata’s eyes widened but he tried to downplay it by shrugging his shoulders. Then he sighed and searched the bathroom for a towel to dry his pants. Tobio frowned: “How did you get your pants wet? One moment you were there and then I was… you know… anyways… when I finished you were gone. Where did you go? Why did you go?”. Kageyama tried his hardest not to sound panicked.

Hinata got even paler, if that was possible. His eyes darted around desperate to find something to focus on. He scratched the back of his head. Something Hinata did a lot when he was nervous. “Uhhhmmm… Don’t know?” Tobio had never heard such a bad answer to a question. He raised his right eyebrow and stared his friend down. Hinata visibly got even more nervous (how has he not fainted yet? What’s up with him?). He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and his hands were fidgeting. “Okay uhhmm… So I kind of had a revelation? Like I realised something I didn’t know before?” Hinata tried again, voice shaky. He started to open and close different cabinet doors. Tobio tried not to yell out that he just defined revelation again with his second sentence and surprisingly enough he managed. Who knew, he was actually capable of holding back. Not for long though: “That’s why you have wet pants? You sure you didn’t just piss yourself?”. Hinata scowled at Tobio, rubbing his pants aggressively with a towel he just found in one of the cabinets: “Fuck you! No, I spilled my drink. It doesn’t matter… Why are you here?”

His own situation hits Tobio anew. He was able to ignore it when Hinata suddenly arrived but now he was thinking about everything again. Especially the part where Hinata ignored him for so long all of a sudden. Tobio thought he was over it after they made up last week, but he couldn’t forget it for some reason. According to Hinata, him not talking to Tobio anymore happened because he was embarrassed about something. But that didn’t quite make sense. Please, it’s Hinata, he’s never embarrassed. Now this weird revelation thing from Hinata and both times he didn’t tell him shit to explain the reasons? Clearly, he didn’t trust him enough to really talk about it. He looked away from Hinata. Tobio didn’t have enough strength left to hold back his tears. Great. Now Hinata saw him cry. He must think he’s pathetic. “No, I don’t. In fact, I think it makes a person stronger to cry. That’s what my mum taught me and she was right about it every single time Natsu or I cried.”, Hinata answered, his voice surprisingly soft. Tobio looked Hinata in the eyes. Fuck, he must have said it out loud. He sighed and sat back on the toilet seat, letting his tears flow down. At least Hinata wasn’t laughing at him. Instead, his teammate was scratching the back of his head again then lay his towel down, giving up on trying to fix his pants. He sat on the carpet next to the toilet. “Do you want to talk about it?”, he asked him with a compassionate look on his face. Hell no, thought Kageyama and shook his head. Hinata never did it with him either. However, he would have liked a hug from him right now. He was sure Hinata was good at hugging. In fact, he knew he was. He still couldn’t forget the hug on the day they lost to Date Tech.

After a while Kageyama calmed down a bit. His tears had mostly stopped and he only sniffled from time to time. What an amazing party, he thought to himself. “A lot happened today.”, Hinata mused, trying to start a conversation again. Tobio nodded his head and dried the rest of his tears. He tried to, but in the end didn’t dare to start talking about that damned game of Truth and Dare. He was in luck though, because Hinata started talking about it: “Some good things too, I mean you had the opportunity to kiss Soma”. Tobio flinched and tilted his head: “That’s good for you?” Maybe Hinata liked Soma. That would explain why he suddenly ran away. Tobio’s eyes widened when all the pieces seemed to click. Hinata had ignored Tobio because he found out Tobio had a crush on him and was weirded out about it. Thankfully he decided to ignore that and they made up. Then today he got jealous when he saw him kissing Soma and realized he liked her. It all made sense now. 

Hinata blinked. “Not for you? Was she a bad kisser or something?” Tobio shut his eyes letting his hands fall down beside him. It took him a bit of time to remember what they were talking about, then he answered: “No, not at all. I just didn’t care about it”. He sounded like a total fuckboy. He hoped Hinata wouldn’t pick up on that. Of course, he did: “Oh wow, too much of a selection?” Tobio opened his eyes again and got irritated. “You know damn well it’s not like that. And you can’t talk. How many did you say there were? Three?” Too late he realised that this was not an okay thing to say. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it, that was uncalled for.” Thankfully Hinata didn’t take it seriously and answered: “Well I guess I win in that department. If you can call it winning. Not like I planned to hook up with them, it just happened.” Hinata peeked up to him and Tobio nodded in agreement. Hinata looked like he tried hard not to ask something. Tobio rolled his eyes: “It was two before today, one if we’re going by Suga-sans counting rules.” How came they never talked about this before? Right, Volleyball. Hinata appeared to have similar thoughts because he smiled softly: “You know, it’s nice talking a bit more serious with you. Maybe we’re getting old.” After a little pause Hinata looked down at the ground, a blush appearing on his face: “It’s our last year. If you want to, you can call me Shoyo.” Tobio nearly fell from the toilet he was sitting on. He felt himself get hot in the face and knew he had about the same red tint residing there as Hinata had. “Only if you call me Tobio.”.

They ended up talking a lot more. Nothing too serious but serious enough to make Tobio fall for him even more. After about the 26nd time someone knocked on the door because they needed to use the toilet they finally decided to go down again. When they opened the door, they heard laughing downstairs while a furious person ran in the bathroom, cursing them in very creative ways. Tobio wondered if the game of Truth or Dare was still ongoing but when they arrived in the living room the crowd was divided in small groups who talked to each other. He was relieved until he saw a familiar face coming right up to him. “Hey uhm Kageyama, can we talk for a second?”, Soma asked and Tobio nodded, wishing to be anywhere but here. Hinata looked at him with a wicked grin on his face and waved him goodbye. Fucking Bastard. 

He stopped gazing after Hinata when he heard Soma clearing her throat. Tobio turned his head around and was greeted with a smiling Soma. While he was thinking about how to turn her down without hurting her too much Soma already started speaking. “You really like him, huh?” Tobio stayed mute and did not dare to do anything. Soma giggled and placed a hand on his shoulder: “It’s obvious. I had some suspicions but your actions while playing Truth or Dare confirmed them. You look cute together.” Tobio stared some more. “Together?” Soma didn’t notice that Tobio was silently having a panic attack. She just nodded and carried on: “Yeah he’s your boyfriend, right? He ran away when we kissed because he was jealous, but he couldn’t say anything because you’re keeping it on the low. That’s actually why I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to apologise. I should have said no to the kiss. I assumed enough to see you were both uncomfortable with it and still I just said yes. I am really sorry!” Kageyama could see her talking but only heard the words boyfriend and jealous. “Boyfriend? Jealous?” Soma faltered in her apology. “Yeah because…oh!” Finally, she caught up with the situation and her face changed to a shocked expression. She threw a hand on her mouth and whispered: “You’re not… together?” Tobio’s perplexed face gave her the answer. Her apology switched to this new mishap of her and Tobio couldn’t keep up with how much he heard the words ‘I’m so sorry’ out of her mouth. When she finally calmed down, she looked at him with a weird expression: “But you do like him.” It wasn’t a question. Tobio also didn’t have to answer, his red face did the job for him. Soma tilted her head slightly and gave him an encouraging smile. “I could be wrong, but I don’t think I am. I think he likes you too, you should go for it.” With that she padded him on the back and moved to a few of her friends who were already waiting for her.

When Tobio was finally at home after this eventful night he couldn’t sleep. Too many thoughts circled in his head. The whole matter with the game, the conversation with Hinata, them giving each other permission to use their first name and lastly Somas ‘apology’. Her words ‘I think he likes you too, you should go for it’ replayed in his mind in an infinite loop. He shifted on his bed. No position seemed comfortable. Could he trust Soma’s words? He couldn’t be sure. Everything he observed hinted at something different. Maybe Soma was as delusional as he was. Yet, he couldn’t stop wondering if the words held any truth. How should he act like on Monday when he saw Hinata again? When he finally drifted off to sleep, he dreamed about the party. Everything was the same. Except instead of Soma, it was Hinata he kissed. 

He spent his Sunday wandering aimlessly around in the neighborhood. He had his volleyball with him in case he saw Hinata but he knew he wouldn’t. Hinata was at home, curing his hangover. After two hours Tobio decided to head back. Maybe Miwa was there. He found her sitting on the couch, watching her favourit series. To her surprise he sat down next to her. She glanced at him suspiciously until he couldn’t stop himself anymore. “I think I like Hinata”. Miwa just scoffed: “You needed half a year to figure that out?”. Tobio swatted his hand in her general direction which led to Miwa snorting and asking if he was sure that he was a setter because he couldn’t aim for shit. He swatted again, this time actually looking at his target, but Miwa held up her leg and blocked it. Then she nudged him with her foot: “Well, spill the beans. I already knew you like him but what made you confide in me?”. Tobio leaned back and threw Miwa’s foot back at her. “I was at a party yesterday and had to kiss this girl in a game. Afterwards she apologized to me, talking about she should have said no because she knew I had a boyfriend.” Miwa sat up, suddenly a lot more interested in the conversation, and pressed pause on her series while lifting her eyebrows at her brother. “Well, I told her we are not together and then she said it’s clear I like him and he likes me too and I should just go for it?” Tobio looked helplessly at his sister waiting for her to add some sense into the situation. 

Miwa smiled: “First of all, you were at a party Tobio-Chan?”. She wriggled her eyebrows at him and enjoyed the expression of suffering on her brother’s face. Tobio didn’t answer so Miwa started to give him her actual advice: “I think he likes you too. But I can understand your doubts, I would be the same. So maybe try to find out how he feels exactly? Try to talk to him about it and go from there.”. Tobio nodded and mentally wrote it down. The instruction of his sister seemed easy enough. But how could he talk with Hinata about Hinata’s feelings without making it weird? Miwa sensed the direction Tobio’s thoughts were heading and tried to help him some more: “The right moment will arrive. Maybe when you are talking about something similar which could lead to the topic.”. Tobio’s tense body relaxed a little and he looked at her, thankful for her advice. Miwa grinned and gave him a thumbs up. Then she leaned over and shook Tobio by his shoulders. “Tobiiii-chan finally has something other than volleyball on his mind.” Her brother just let the shaking happen and sighed. “Don’t remind me. Nothing makes sense and I don’t know what to do. Why doesn’t stuff like that have rules you can follow.”. At that Miwa laughed and pinched his cheek. “Don’t worry too much, you’ll get wrinkles. It’s going to be fine. Now shut up so I can watch my series”.


	5. Shoyo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never thought anybody would read this :o So thank you for reading it :)
> 
> Like I said before, sorry for any mistakes. Writing in a foreign language is harder than I thought. I'll probably let a friend with better English skills proofread everything soon, so at least a few mistakes will be fixed by then.

Monday arrived with rain which suited Shoyo’s mood. When he cured out his hangover on Sunday (he wasn’t able to play volleyball and will therefore never drink again!) he had a lot of time to think about the party the day before. He was grateful that he didn’t drink enough to make him forget half the evening. But after having a whole day of overthinking behind him, he kind of wished for it a bit. The first part of the party was great. He loved spending time with his former teammates and even the tension between him and Kageyama was mostly gone by then. Then he decided to take part in this stupid game and everything escalated from there. After him freaking out over the kiss between Soma and Kageyama he had the biggest fucking revelation of the century. He liked Kageyama. His sister was right, his mum was right. He fucking liked Kageyama. And, of course, he had to ran straight into him after learning that about himself. He was lucky like that. After realizing that he not only liked girls, but guys (Kageyama to be exact) as well, he stayed on the bed for a bit and buried his face in the pillows on it. In retrospect it made sense for him to like Kageyama. He was the person to always be at his side. He was the person who tossed to him and made it possible for Shoyo to stand on the court. He was the person who made him strive for more, no matter the topic. And he was the person to give Shoyo 'one more’ when everybody else stopped. After a while of contemplating his life with Kageyama, he remembered the beer that spilled on his pants. Fuck, he was going to ruin the bedsheets. He’d quickly jumped out of the bed and checked for possible stains. Fortunately, he was laying on his back, so the bed was clean. He’d let out a breath and then hurriedly went to the bathroom where he met Kageyama. 

The talk they had in the bathroom was not the thing that made Shoyo so unhappy. It was actually really good. They even were on a first name basis right now but he didn’t really had the guts to call Kageyama by his given name. What did make him unhappy is the realisation that Kageyama for sure wasn’t interested in him. Kageyama basically admitted that he didn’t care kissing Soma but afterwards the two of them talked for a bit and even though Shoyo couldn’t hear what they were talking about he was sure both of them looked embarrassed. He was also sure they confessed to each other and Kageyama just downplayed his emotions or something when they were talking before. What’s more, his problem of the last few weeks will now be reality. If he really had feelings for his best friend, how is he going to talk to him without Kageyama noticing? Should he try to ignore him again? After the disastrous weeks before the party he didn’t really want to do that. Maybe it was just best to ignore his feelings and try to act normal. It was worth a try at least. 

He was still debating on what to do when he finally arrived at the school. He was drenched. Days like this were the only negative thing about coming to school with the bike. Shoyo shoved his bike in the bike stand and locked it up. Then he ran into the school, holding his bag above his head. Not that this was of any help, he got even wetter anyway. A lot of people gave him weird stares because, of course, he was the only idiot who came to school by bike in this weather. He wringed his shirt out and inspected his bag for any damage done. Like he expected, everything was wet and his homework dissolved between his hands. Shoyo sighed. He was on thin ice as it was, him turning up to class without homework wasn’t exactly helping his case. Suddenly, he remembered that in his locker in the clubroom should be an extra pair of gym clothes. Which meant that at least he could walk around the school in dry clothes. Shoyo speeded down the hallway, slowing a bit when passing the vice principal's room. When he reached the clubroom, he unlocked the door as fast as possible, hoping his assumption was correct and he had some extra clothes lying around. He opened the locker and for the first time that day his mood lifted a bit. 

He just finished changing and started to hang up his wet clothes at random places in the clubroom (there wasn’t a rack) when Kageyama arrived. Shoyo instantly felt his face go red and he concentrated way too much on arranging his shorts on the windowsill. Kageyama walked to his own locker and deposited his sport clothes in it. It was clear that he also had a hard time coming up with something to say. Finally, the quiet was getting too weird and Shoyo blurted out “it’s raining today” the same time Kageyama inquired if he had showered with his clothes on. Shoyo made an offended face and Kageyama chuckled, which made Shoyo’s heart a little warm. Oh, he was definitely in trouble. To hide his excitement over Kageyama chuckling he shouted ‘idiot’ and threw a sock his way. Kageyama dodged expertly and grinned at his friend: “I’m not the one who has to walk around the school in gym clothes.”. 

Shoyo grunted and just started to stoop down to collect his sock, when, to his genuine surprise, Kageyama was already picking it up and held it out to him. He looked at Kageyama with big eyes, took his sock out of his hand and turned around to find a spot for it. Shoyo decided that his best option was not to comment on what just happened. Firstly he didn't know what to say and secondly because his hand had touched Kageyama’s a little and for some reason Shoyo's heart decided to work nearly as hard as it did while playing volleyball. This day was getting harder to get through than he anticipated. Why was everything so different now that he knew what he was feeling for Kageyama? He busied himself with the rest of his clothes and placed them wherever was most convenient. Kageyama waited for him by the door, observing him. “You don’t have to wait for me.”, Shoyo told him and expected Kageyama to go. However, he just continued standing there and murmured quietly: “Do you want me to go?”. This made Shoyo listen up and he turned to Kageyama. He was looking at Shoyo with an unsure look on his face. Shoyo stared at him. “I don’t want to keep you waiting. You will be late for class”. It seemed like a safe answer. He didn’t have to lie and still kind of answered his question. But to his dismay Kageyama recognized his strategy and shrugged his shoulders: “Can’t be helped if I have to help out an idiot.”. Shoyo nearly threw something at him again but stopped himself in time. He just finished hanging all the clothes somewhere, he didn’t want to do it again. “What help? I did everything by myself!”, Shoyo retorted and settled on swatting Kageyama with his hand when he passed him.

Together they walked back to the main building to attend their classes. They didn’t really talk much because neither of them knew how to start a conversation again. Shoyo thought about what just happened. He didn’t dare to hope but Kageyama seemed like he wanted to spend more time with him. Which made him really happy of course but he was sure Kageyama just came to terms with the fact that they were best friends and decided to hang out with Shoyo more. Plus, he had Soma. Now that Shoyo thought about it, why wasn’t he spending time with her? He was sure that they were together. Should he ask Kageyama about it? Maybe it would help him get over his little crush. Before the courage left him again he asked: “Aren’t you with Soma? Shouldn’t you spend time with her?” Shoyo was proud of himself. His heart was beating like crazy and he was sure that he was blushing again (he did that a lot recently) but he asked the question. Deep in his thoughts, he didn't notice that they already walked into the classroom. He focused on Kageyama’s face and swallowed hard. Kageyama looked at him like he was from another planet. It looked like he wanted to answer but the two were interrupted by their teacher: “First you two are late and now you’re holding a conference instead of joining the class?”. The teacher had his arms crossed before his chest and a look on his face that warned them to do as he said. Shoyo hurried over to his seat as Kageyama did the same. 

Over the course of the day Shoyo was wondering if Kageyama was going to answer his question but he never did. Maybe he forgot about it. Shoyo thought about asking again but couldn’t muster the courage for a second time. In practice, they finally started to sync up again and their attacks got better and better. Shoyo could see the relieve in the face of the other team members. After practice they went to the clubroom to change again. Shoyo checked to see if his clothes were dry but they weren’t. After the first class he did not only get a scolding for being late and talking with Kageyama, but also for the fact that he wasn’t wearing his school uniform. He sighed and looked out of the window. It was still raining and it looked like there was a big storm coming. Shoyo just hoped that he would be at home before it started. It obviously didn’t matter if his clothes were still wet because he had to bike home in the rain either way but changing into moist clothes wasn't something he particularly liked. He grimaced as he put on his damp trousers. Then he took his stuff and went to get his bike. Kageyama was waiting at the school gate for him and they started to walk home together. 

Shoyo didn’t exactly know why Kageyama didn’t take the bus home but he wasn’t going to complain about it. On their way thunder rumbled louder and more often and Shoyo’s hope the storm would only start when he was already at home was dwindling. Suddenly, a lightning strike illuminated the sky which seemed to be the starting signal for the rain to pour down like hell. “Fuck! This weather is going to kill me. I have at least half of the way still to go! And I thought this morning was bad”, Shoyo exclaimed and started to mount his bike. He wanted to be home as fast as possible. Just when he was about to say goodbye to his friend and pedal away, he felt a grip on his arm. He looked back and saw Kageyama holding him back. “Are you crazy? You can’t bike home in this weather you have to go over the mountain, that’s just too dangerous.”. Shoyo was sure he wasn’t hearing correctly. Kageyama voice was angry but there was something else too. It almost sounded like Kageyama was worried about him. He gaped at Kageyama until he remembered he had to say something: “Uhmmm… well I can’t just stay here Bakegayama?”. Kageyama’s grip around his arm tightened and his eyes darted around and he was looking everywhere but to Shoyo. What was happening? Finally, Kageyama answered him: “Something could happen. And if something happens you can’t play volleyball anymore.” Kageyama appeared to be embarrassed and looked down on his shoes. There was definitely worry in the tone of his voice. Shoyo said nothing. What was he supposed to answer to that? Kageyama was right.

Another lightning strike lightened up the sky, followed by a loud rumbling. Both boys flinched. The weather was getting worse by the second. Shoyo tried to wrestle his arm free from Kageyama's grip. “I really have to go now, it’s only going to get worse.”. Even now Kageyama didn’t let go. “You could come to my house. It’s nearer.”. Did he hear that correctly? He looked at Kageyama. His hair was dripping wet and big drops ran down his face. Shoyo couldn't help himself finding it attractive. Kageyama's blue eyes were now concentrated on Shoyo, expecting an answer. There was no doubt that Kageyama just invited him to his home. It wasn’t like Shoyo was never at his house before, but it was usually only to play volleyball and he was never actually inside the house (how did they manage that after two years of knowing each other?). Also, now that he knew that he had a crush on Kageyama it was different somehow. Kageyama probably could see him hesitating because he added: “Only until the rain stops. You can call your parents to get you. If you stay out here, there’s going to be an accident, or you will get sick.”. Another solid reason. Kageyama made sense. So Shoyo nodded and followed Kageyama. He was keenly aware of the fact that Kageyama had not yet let go of Shoyo’s arm. He tried to act normally but must have glanced at it a little too much because Kageyama eventually noticed and quickly let go of his arm.

When they finally arrived at Kageyama’s house every piece of clothing they had on them was wet and they both shook from the cold. They left the bike next to the front door and their shoes in the entrance. “Uhmm… Do you want some dry clothes? I could lend you some.”, Kageyama asked Shoyo, which made him forget to breathe. This situation was getting crazier and crazier. He cleared his throat and tried to answer with a voice as even as possible: “I guess that would be an advantage.”. Kageyama snorted: “An advantage? Are we using complicated sentences now? Don’t overwork yourself, idiot.”. This woke Shoyo out of his stupor: “That’s a complicated sentence for you? You must be dumber than I thought.”. Arguing was good, he was used to that. He could almost forget his huge crush on Kageyama. “OY”, Kageyama exclaimed and tried to hit him but Shoyo jumped away. He ran into the hallway but after only a few steps came to a sudden stop. In front of him stood a girl with black hair that looked a lot like his setter. She had a phone in her hand but when she saw the two boys she apologised to the caller and said she would phone back. She grinned at them. Kageyama noticed her as well and grumbled a ‘Hi’ in her direction. “Well, hello there. If it isn’t my little Tobio-Chan and his friend.”, the girl welcomed them with a cheerful voice. Shoyo didn’t pick up on the way she pronounced the word ‘friend’ because he was too busy grinning at Kageyama while whispering “Tobio-Chan, huh?”. Kageyama grabbed him by the hair and countered with the ingenious words “Shut up, idiot.”. The girls smile widened and she said: “Sorry I didn’t mean to be rude. I’m Kageyama Miwa. You’re Hinata-kun, right?”.

By the time they escaped a very talkative Miwa, Shoyo’s lips were blue and he couldn’t feel his toes. He liked Miwa, she was different from her brother and a lot nicer.He also noticed that Kageyama was talking more and seemed to be relaxed when he was in company of his sister. For that, Shoyo liked Miwa even more. Now they stood shivering in front of Kageyama's closet. Kageyama was looking through it to find something that would fit Shoyo’s size. However, it looked like he failed because after a while he sighed and turned around with a random sweatshirt and jogging pants: “Just take this, I give up. You’re just too short.”. Hinata tried to look as angry as possible but he was grateful for the dry and warm clothes. He took the sweatshirt and pants as well as, with a very red face, the underwear Kageyama held out to him and went to the bathroom to change.

While he pulled on the sweatshirt, he noticed that it smelled like Kageyama. It was a nice smell, a mixture between his laundry detergent and his own smell. Shoyo skillfully ignored the fact that he knew how Kageyama smelled, smiled and put the rest off the clothes on as well. Like expected they were too big for him and he had to roll up the sleeves to use his arms. 

When he returned to Kageyama’s room his friend was already changed as well. He tried not to be too disappointed by that. Now that he wasn't freezing anymore, he took a good look around Kageyama's room. There wasn't much stuff. A few mangas were stacked next to the bed and some fitness stuff lay around. On the wall above the bed was a shelf with some awards. Everything was blue. Blue bed covers, blue curtains, blue carpet. For Shoyo the room was way too boring but he guessed it kind of suited Kageyama. They collected all the wet clothes and tossed them into the dryer. Afterwards they went back to Kageyama’s room. Only then they recalled that, for Shoyo to get picked up, a phone call would be necessary.


	6. Tobio

Tobio was having a really hard time. Not only was Hinata in his room and was sitting on his bed, but he also wore his clothes. And he looked fucking adorable in them.  
After they changed, Hinata had phoned his mum to inform her where he was, which was the right move because even though Hinata hadn’t put his mother on speaker, Tobio could hear her voice which was full of worry. She said she would come to get him, but she was forced to wait a bit because the rain was still pouring down. In one of his prouder moments Tobio had suggested that Hinata could just eat dinner here and Hinata’s mother agreed to that: “The weather should be better by then, so I guess I can get you around 9 o’clock?”.

And now here they were, sitting on Tobio’s bed and talking. Or in Tobio’s case trying to talk. He didn’t expect that Hinata wearing his clothes could have this effect on him, but he guessed that this was just another confirmation that he was crushing hard on the boy. Focussing on the conversation they were having proved to be quite a challenge because he couldn’t stop himself from staring. He had to concentrate on keeping it on the minimum so Hinata wouldn’t get suspicious. Apparently, he did a bad job because Hinata stopped talking and inspected himself. “Is something wrong with me? You keep looking?” Hinata shifted on his bed, visibly insecure. Tobio cursed himself. He pondered about an excuse, there was no way in hell he would let himself be found out like that. His brain only worked properly when it was about volleyball, so he came up empty of excuses. Ultimately Tobio managed to stutter out that it just was weird for him to see Hinata in his clothes. It was a bad reply, and he knew that, but Hinata seemed somewhat reassured and stopped picking at the clothes he wore. Tobio let out a breath. This was torture.

Hinata slowly looked up and smiled shyly: “Hey Kageyama, Thank you for everything. For taking me home and letting me eat dinner here. For giving me your clothes too. I’m really grateful. It was a bad idea trying to go home by bike.”. Tobio turned his head away because he was sure that he was blushing like crazy. “Of course it was a bad idea, idiot. You could have had an accident and then you wouldn’t be able to play volleyball. What would the team do without you?”. ‘What would I do?’, Tobio added in his thoughts. He loved volleyball over everything and since he was playing with Hinata, volleyball and Hinata belonged together. If anything would have happened to Hinata, volleyball wouldn’t be the same anymore. But it was clear to him that he was way more worried about Hinata’s safety than volleyball. Hinata’s smile grew bigger as he said: “Good thing I have you to worry about me.”. Tobio nearly choked and answered: “I don’t worry about you.”, but they both knew he wasn’t telling the truth.

Tobio swallowed. He suddenly remembered the question Hinata had asked him this morning. It had bothered him all day that he wasn’t able to answer it yet. First, he was too shocked to answer the question. Then the teacher scolded them and they had to sit down. Over the course of the day there were a few times he nearly brought the topic up again, but it just never seemed like the right moment. ‘Aren’t you with Soma?’. How did Hinata even get to this conclusion? He told him that he didn’t care about kissing her. Maybe he didn’t believe him? But he never even talked to her. The only time they actually did talk, was at the party. He remembered that after the conversation with her, he was so embarrassed that he looked like a walking tomato. Hinata had asked him what they had been talking about and Tobio had answered with the simple words ‘the kiss’ while he was probably getting even redder. From his perspective it was obvious that he had been flustered because Soma thought Hinata was his boyfriend. But for other people, Hinata to be exact, it could have seemed like they talked about their kiss which could lead to the conclusion that they were together. Tobio froze and finally realized. “Oh”.

He turned and looked Hinata in the eyes, just to see that the boy was already looking at him. “What is it?”, he asked with a questioning look in his eyes. If Hinata had a crush on Soma and thought she was together with him of all people, Hinata was probably feeling horrible. It wasn’t like he thought he had a chance for a relationship with Hinata. He knew he could never make Hinata happy as his boyfriend, but he could make him happy if he cleared up this misunderstanding. It broke Tobio’s heart but he was prepared for it since the day he realized his crush. Before Tobio could overthink too much he blurted out that he wasn’t in a relationship with Soma. Hinata blushed and started to scratch the back of his hair. “That’s fine but why are you saying this now?”, Hinata sounded confused and Tobio couldn’t blame him. After all, he started talking about this seemingly out of the blue. “Well, you asked me.”, he tried to justify himself to which Hinata said with an incredulous face: “Yeah, this Morning. That was like hours ago.”. Tobio just shrugged his shoulders and stared at Hinata’s eyes some more. He really liked his eyes. They had this beautiful amber colour and somehow radiated kindness and happiness. 

Hinata averted said eyes and looked like he wanted to say something. He was scratching the back of his head again and Tobio had to held himself back from gripping the hand and moving it away. Why does he have to do irritating stuff like that? Didn’t he realize that people would want to touch the back of his head with the fluffy hair too? Yes, People is Tobio, but still. Finally, Hinata stopped scratching and asked in a low voice: “But you want to be?”. Tobio was too stunned to answer so he just shook his head. Hinata’s eyes widened and his mood seemed to change into relief. Tobio felt his chest ache and his eyes started to burn a little. When Hinata spoke again, it sounded still a bit unsure but already happier and even hopeful: “Are you sure about that?”. This time Tobio nodded. After thinking about it some more, he decided to add: “It wouldn’t be possible.”. He couldn’t tell Hinata it wasn’t possible because he was gay and had a massive crush on him, but maybe this comment would at least help him a little in Hinata’s understanding of Tobio not getting in the way with Soma. Hinata lifted his eyebrows and looked confused again. “You find her this ugly?”. Tobio snorted. “Idiot!”. Hinata shrugged and after a moment of silence started to talk again: “Why then?”. Tobio should have known that Hinata would not accept his answer without an in-depth explanation. He tried to deflect Hinata nonetheless: “Not telling you, Hinata.”. Hinata observed him, then sighed. “Kageyama come on. It can’t be that bad. Just tell me why it’s so impossible.”. Tobio groaned and stood up, walking to the door of his room: “Let’s make dinner it’s about time.”. Before he left the room, he stopped in the doorway while holding the doorframe. Maybe it was better to tell him now. At least one part of it. He had to say it someday anyway and if Hinata was going to hate him for it, there was no reason to delay the inevitable. With a quiet voice, half hoping Hinata wouldn’t hear, he confessed: “Because I kind of like guys.”.

His sister left some side dishes but there was no rice left, so Tobio was cooking rice. It was a good distraction. He didn’t see Hinata react to his confession, but it was better this way. After he said it, he made his exit to the kitchen quick, hands shaking and sweating. He calmed down a bit now, cooking was soothing for some reason. Tobio was busy making rice for about five minutes when he could hear steps from the hallway coming into the kitchen. Suddenly, he was nervous again. What was Hinata going to say? The steps came to a halt and he stared at the rice cooker, hoping it would finish soon so he could use his hands again. Hinata cleared his throat but Tobio didn’t turn around. He couldn’t look the other boy in the eyes. He was way too scared of the upcoming conversation. Hinata seemed to guess that as well and after a while blurted out from across the room: “You know, I like boys as well, I think. Girls too, but guys…too”. His voice was shaky and quiet. Tobio couldn’t move. Did he hear that correctly? Did Hinata just say…? Tobio had to remember how to breathe again. He grabbed the counter with his hands and didn’t let go. He could hear Hinata coming closer, probably because he turned into a statue and Hinata wanted to check if Tobio was okay. So, he forced himself to take a deep breath and slowly turned away from the counter. When he saw Hinata, his nervousness dwindled a little. For one he could see that Hinata was just as nervous as he was and secondly, he recognized genuine worry in Hinata’s expression. “You mean that?”, Tobio whispered and Hinata’s expression got soft as he nodded. Tobio gripped his shirt and clenched his fist together. He still had a hard time processing. Hinata liked guys and girls. Which meant that, however small, there was still a chance for Tobio. In a perfect scenario he would confess his feelings now, but he was way too much of a coward and there was still Soma. But at least Tobio knew that Hinata wouldn’t hate him for being gay. And that made him beyond happy. He managed to hide his crush for half a year, he could do it some more. They could continue to be best friends. 

Tobio didn’t know when he started to consider Hinata his best friend. Maybe it was after the nationals in their first year. Maybe it was even sooner than that, after their big fight before and during the training camp. Either way, it didn’t really matter. What did matter, was that in Hinata he found someone he could trust. It was always hard for him to trust people and when he started at Karasuno it was no different. He was still anxious from his experiences in middle school, so playing in a new team was frightening. Especially because finding friends and social interactions weren’t Tobio’s expertise. Tobio planned to do it as always, trying to work alone to compensate for not having friends. Hinata was his rival from the first day onward and their arguing and competing did bring a lot of problems. He didn’t expect that Hinata of all people would sneak his way into his heart. But exactly that happened, and he was grateful for it every day. Tobio fucked stuff up quite often but Hinata didn’t seem to care about that. He had the sudden urge to hug the smaller boy in front of him. And maybe it was because of the way Hinata reacted before, probably because Tobio was emotionally exhausted, but he lifted his arms and pulled Hinata into an embrace. Hinata froze at the unexpected hug and let out a little ‘oh’ but then put his arms around Tobio as well and squeezed lightly.

They stayed like that for a long time (or at least it felt like a long time), neither of the boys wanting to break up the hug. Eventually, they got interrupted by the rice cooker. With a loud ‘beep’ it indicated that the rice was finished. Both got startled and pulled apart. Tobio was flustered and turned to the cooker with a fast movement. He was glad that he could busy himself with the rice to distract himself from the nervousness. Hinata on the other hand desperately searched for something to do. “Where are your plates and stuff, I could set the table?”, Hinata suggested. Tobio pointed at the cabinets where the plates and the cutlery were kept and Hinata took two of each. When he finished setting the table, Tobio was ready as well.

After their meal they stayed seated at the table. Tobio calmed down a bit and he found his cool again. He couldn’t believe he hugged Hinata. But Hinata didn’t seem to mind, otherwise he wouldn’t have hugged him back, right? Maybe he should do it more often. It felt pretty good and it comforted him. He smiled to himself without meaning to and schooled his face into a neutral expression. Hinata noticed though: “What are you smiling about?”. How is this boy so observant all of a sudden? “I don’t know, it’s just a nice evening I guess.”, Tobio answered and took a sip of his water. Now Hinata smiled as well and added: “Yeah it is. Even though I have to spend it with you.”. Well, nothing lasts forever, thought Tobio and glared at Hinata, but after a few seconds they both burst out laughing. Tobio really did enjoy his time with Hinata, it was different than in school. Better. He remembered that this was the first time Hinata came over and they weren’t just practicing volleyball. He peered over to his friend and saw him playing with his napkin. He continuously picked at it and there were several shreds of it lying on the table. Hinata seemed to be distracted by something. Tobio stood up and got himself a glass of milk. Might as well.

When he came back, slurping his milk, Hinata spoke up: “Did you mean what you said at the party?”. Tobio stopped slurping and swallowed the remaining sip of milk. Studying hard, he tried to find out what exactly Hinata meant by that. He dropped himself on the chair and scrunched his eyebrows together. “I said a lot. You have to be more specific.”. Hinata smiled softly and replied with a chuckle: “Yeah true. Very weird for you.” This gave him a little glare from Tobio but he continued as if he saw nothing: “Me calling you by your given name.”. Tobio blushed and focussed his gaze on the glass of milk in front of him. “Only if you meant it as well.”, he murmured. This was so embarrassing. Tobio reached for his milk glass again and drank another sip. Through the glass he saw Hinata’s smile getting so big his entire face lit up. “That’s so cool, Tobio!”. Tobio choked on his milk and he had to put the glass back down on the table. He doubled over coughing and was sure that he was dying. Hinata just laughed like him dying was the funniest thing he’d ever seen. Fucking Dumbass. As soon as he was able to speak, he cried out a loud ‘OY’. Hinata didn’t stop laughing, on the contrary, he laughed even harder. Bastard. Nevertheless, he had to admit that Hinata calling him Tobio sounded good. It sounded right. Maybe that’s why he reacted that way to it. Definitely not because it sounded so intimate. He just had to get used to it. Hinata, no Shoyo, probably wasn’t used to it too. With an evil grin he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “What’s so funny, Shoyo?”. Hinata stopped laughing and got red like someone just painted his entire face. He smirked, satisfied with the result of his attack. Shoyo tried to pick up a new conversation but he stuttered so much that Tobio had to wait a few attempts until Shoyo managed to form an understandable sentence. “Should we clean all this stuff up and go to your room?”. Tobio just nodded, finished his milk and started collecting the dishes.

“You really like the colour blue, huh?”, Shoyo mentioned. Tobio was sitting on his desk stool and glared at Shoyo again. He did that a lot. “Blue is a very nice colour. Your room probably looks like someone barfed ten different colours on it.”. Shoyo glared right back at him: “I’ll have you know my room looks very tasteful.”. “Tasteful my ass”, Tobio snickered and earned another angry look from his friend. Offended, Shoyo sighed and exclaimed: “From a friend who has the exceptional right to call me by my given name I expected more.” Shoyo stood up and examined Tobio’s awards. He just raised his hand to touch one of them when he heard: “Please. Exceptional? The janitor at school calls you Shoyo. And don’t touch them, idiot.”. Shoyo’s hand dropped back to his side and he shrugged. Slowly he walked to the bed and let himself fall on it. Tobio glanced at him. A part of his sweatshirt slipped up and exposed a bit of Shoyo’s abs. He had to physically stop himself from staring and turned around in his chair. “What about it, Sato-San is a very nice man.”. Tobio snorted at the reply, leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “Only you could make friends with the janitor”. Shoyo chuckled. Tobio could hear rustling but kept his eyes closed. It was relaxing, sitting like that. “I mean, it was child’s play after becoming friends with you. And I did that so good that my sister and my mum think we’re dating”.

Tobio opened his eyes, turned his chair around so fast he nearly fell down, and gaped at his friend. Shoyo had made himself at home on his bed and lay there comfortable under the blanket, head on his pillow. Tobio just saved this information in his brain to scream at Shoyo later. Right now, the other boy’s statement was more important. “Don’t look at me like that. Wasn’t me who thought it.”, Shoyo said and took the second pillow to hide his face under it. It was probably getting red again. What the fuck was happening today. “My sister thought that too.” Tobio stated, not sure why. Maybe he wanted Shoyo to feel a little better about himself. He heard a muffled ‘HUH’ and then the pillow resting on Shoyo’s face a moment before, came flying towards him. In the last second, he caught it. Well, it didn't make Shoyo feel better, that's for sure. He threw the pillow back at Shoyo, yelling another ‘oy’. The pillow landed directly in Shoyo’s face but he just stared at Tobio like nothing like that ever happened. “Your sister as well? What the fuck. They all only see us at matches. What are other people thinking? Like at school?” Tobio remembered his talk with Soma again. Apparently, it was visible on his face because Shoyo paled. “You know something? Tell me!”. Should he tell Shoyo? He was a little scared that the other boy would start to distance himself from him but he couldn't bring it over himself to lie at him. “Well, do you remember when Soma talked to me at the party?”, he began and Shoyo nodded. “She actually tried to apologise for kissing because she thought we were together. But don’t worry I explained everything, I’m sure you still have a pretty good chance.”

While Shoyo looked shocked for the most part of his explanation, he looked completely confused about the last sentence. “A good chance?”, stuttered Shoyo and stared at Tobio with big eyes. Now Tobio was getting confused:” Yeah, you like her right?”. He started his question by looking Shoyo in the eyes but when he ended, he was looking at the floor next to his feet, having averted his eyes. “Like her?”, he heard Shoyo whisper and got confused as well. “Yeah?”, he clarified again and waited to hear Shoyo finally getting it. He did get it. But his answer wasn’t what Tobio expected. “No Tobio, I don’t like Soma. I mean I do like her, but I don’t like like her. Like in a relationship kind of way. I like her in a friendship kind of way. I like her like that”. The words seemed to pour out of his friends mouth now, desperate to clarify the situation. “Shut up I get it”. Tobio couldn’t believe it. Words couldn’t describe what he was feeling in that moment. He was confused as fuck but also happy. And he didn’t know how to react to it. He looked up to see Hinata already staring at him. “You thought I like Soma?”, he asked again and Tobio shrugged. It wasn’t like this idiot didn’t think the same just hours before. Shoyo seemed to remember as well because he didn’t ask further about it. The little hope from before bubbled up again. The tiny chance that maybe, just maybe, Tobio had a chance with Shoyo. He tried to find anything, even the smallest clue, in the amber eyes of his friend which stared into his own blue eyes. Tobio couldn’t look away. And he didn’t want to. Shoyo appeared to be in a similar position because he didn't avert his eyes as well. Before either of them could say or do anything furter, the doorbell rang. Tobio shook the feeling of closeness he just felt away and turned his head away, concentrating his stare to his bed. Shoyo was shaking his head but then jumped out of the bed and looked at Tobio like nothing had happened. “Let’s get the clothes out of the dryer, I think my mum is here.”

When Tobio lay in bed, he couldn’t sleep. He was an emotional mess. When Shoyo left, he still had Tobio’s clothes on. He promised to wash them, while his mum was trying hard not to laugh. She also tried to hide it by putting a hand in front of her mouth but she fooled nobody. Tobio was absolutely sure that it was Shoyo’s mum who was going to wash the clothes and not his friend. They tried a solid ten minutes to fit Shoyo’s bike into the car. He guessed Shoyo’s mum was just as stubborn as her son because Tobio accepted after the third try that the bike wasn't going to fit but Shoyo and his mum still tried. The Hinatas only gave up after Tobio promised for about the seventh time he would bring it to school the next day. When they drove away both of the Hinata’s were smiling and waving and Tobio just couldn’t stop himself from doing the same.

When he invited Shoyo over this afternoon he never would have thought that it was going to be a turning point in their relationship. Somehow it made him like his friend even more. He should probably stop consider Shoyo as a friend because he was so much more to Tobio. And today was the first time he kind of had the feeling that the same could be possible for Shoyo. They talked a lot more about important stuff like their feelings. Also, that stare at the end of the evening was different. Maybe Shoyo liked him too? He was reaching, he knew, the boy probably just considered him a best friend now and was comfortable to talk about this kind of topics too. Tobio turned a few times to find a better position. But that just made him think of Shoyo laying in his bed again. It even smelled a little like him. It smelled good. He thought back to when Shoyo lay here, a patch of skin just over his hips exposed. Tobio forced that particular memory away. It was bad enough as it was, he didn’t want to add horny to the list right now. He slapped his hands on his face and groaned. This was going to be a long night. If at least Miwa was here, he could talk to her. But after she held her chat with him and Shoyo, she went to stay at a friend’s place. And as much as Tobio was glad about it just hours before, he was irritated now. He huffed and closed his eyes. The thoughts about Shoyo wouldn’t leave. Another memory came to mind: The embrace he shared with Shoyo after he told him he was gay. He was just about to get angry (wasn’t he allowed to sleep tonight?) but to his surprise thinking about it calmed him down, since it proofed that Shoyo stayed with him after Tobio told him the thing he was the most scared of telling him. Well, except maybe his crush on him but he could ignore that now. So, finally, Tobio slowly fell asleep.


	7. Shoyo

In the following weeks a lot of things stayed the same while simultaneously changing completely. Shoyo was still hanging out with Tobio at school. They were still playing volleyball together and sometimes even used their lunchtime to practice a specific technic or a special move. When they talked, they fell back to their usual bickering and arguing about nearly anything. And competing in challenges was something that would probably never stop. What changed were small, unimportant things that most people probably wouldn’t even notice. For one, Shoyo himself was prone to blushing whenever Tobio touched him. It was harder for him to talk to Tobio because he was easily distracted and started to daydream about certain things he’d like to do with his setter. He hid his crush to the best of his abilities but he was scared to slip up, especially because lately Tobio seemed to be very attractive. How had he not noticed that before? But it wasn’t only Shoyo who changed, Tobio did as well. Shoyo had the feeling that Tobio seemed to be more relaxed overall. He smiled more often and his time spent pouting during the day was definitely shorter. Shoyo thought everybody would see the change in Tobio but when he asked Yamaguchi about it his answer was just ‘I didn’t notice anything different, sorry’. Shoyo did feel a little proud to be the only one to notice.

Moreover, Tobio sometimes called him by his given name. He did this only when they were alone. It felt like something they only shared with each other. One time Soma was nearby without them noticing. They did notice her though when she perked up and walked into a wall as soon as she heard them use their given names. She then proceeded to fucking wink at them and Shoyo couldn’t determine who blushed more, Tobio or he. After that, they always made sure to check their surroundings before they used the given name. But the biggest change of all was Tobio giving Shoyo a hug from time to time. It was mostly when Tobio had a bad day or was especially stressed out about something. At first Shoyo was always unprepared. After a few times of it happening though, he started to recognize a certain pattern. On their way home Tobio would be quieter than usual. On the crossing where they parted, Tobio would quickly look around to check if they were alone, then leaning over to hug Shoyo before saying goodbye. Tobio’s hugs ended as sudden as they started and Shoyo savoured every millisecond of it. After the embrace Tobio would turn around and go home, usually mumbling an ‘until tomorrow, dumbass’ while walking away. Even if Tobio probably hugged Shoyo as a friend, Shoyo couldn’t change the fact that he got his hopes up. 

When the hugs didn’t stop after a week Shoyo decided to indulge in this rare treat. He started to look forward to it. And, in an attempt to make more hugs by his crush possible, Shoyo started to find ways to frustrate Tobio throughout the day so, by the end of it, he would be more inclined to hug him because his day was not that enjoyable which appeared to be the reason for the hugs. Shoyo accidentally spilled his milk, hid his sports clothes so Tobio had to borrow extra ones from random people. Shoyo hid pens, notebooks and similar stuff from Tobio. To top it all of, he tried to annoy Tobio as much as possible with everything he said. His attempts made him feel a little guilty because that meant that Tobio was having a bad mood but the hug at the end of the day overruled everything. Sometimes Shoyo feared being discovered by his crush, especially after seeing smirks when Shoyo accidentally steered him into a wall again or blushing when Shoyo felt on him for the tenth time in practice. It appeared as if Tobio saw through him. He reacted to everything Shoyo did but his overall mood was still something close to happy and content. But Tobio never missed a hug when he was teased and plagued by his friend which obviously meant that he didn’t catch on with Shoyo’s plan, right? With this strategy Shoyo managed to bring the hugs to a daily ritual before parting. 

“Oy dumbass, give that back”, Tobio yelled and tried to catch Shoyo. Shoyo evaded Tobio expertly as the other team members let out designated sighs. It was the third time this week the two of them were fighting about Tobio’s water bottle. But like every day, Shoyo knew it would be worth it in the evening. He tried to back away to the right side when he got stopped by a big person beside him. Slowly he looked up and saw Tsukishima glaring down at him. He averted his eyes and hastily searched for Tobio but his setter stood a few steps away from him obviously terrified because Yamaguchi had a hand on his shoulder and looked at him with an angry glare. Shoyo flinched. A glare from Yamaguchi was rare. And right now, it was directed at him and Tobio. “What do you two think you’re doing? Lately the two of you argue a lot more than usual. Not to mention over stupid things like a water bottle! Did something happen? Are we going back to first year behaviour? You’re not 16 anymore, you’re third years! I know you can’t behave yourselves but I thought you at least matured enough to not fight about a water bottle!”, Yamaguchi preached and Shoyo looked at him horrified. It was silent in the clubroom, nobody dared to say anything. Yamaguchi waited a few seconds but when neither Tobio nor Shoyo answered he added: “Don’t just stand there, explain yourselves!”. 

Shoyo swallowed and desperately tried to think of something to say. “Well, this idiot here took my water bottle.”, Tobio stated the obvious. Shoyo could hear Tsukishima facepalm himself behind him. Tobio looked at Yamaguchi like that explained the whole situation, which for him it probably did. Yamaguchi stared at him, already not angry anymore. He was way too kind. “He actually takes a lot of stuff from Kageyama without any reason, I saw it happen for a few weeks.”. Shoyo’s whole body turned hot and he looked around for the snitch in the room. It was a first year, unaware of the consequences of his words. All eyes turned to Shoyo and Tsukishima smirked: “Now that you say that, it’s true that Shrimpy here steals a lot of stuff from his other braincell lately. I wonder what’s the reason.”. Shoyo couldn’t move. Is this how he’s going to die? Everybody will find out. He could hear a sigh and then the person he least suspected of helping him decided to chip in: “It’s alright. The dumbass isn’t trying to be mean. I’ll forgive him.”. Tobio stood there, a hand scratching his neck and a little blush on his cheeks. Now the attention of everybody in the room shifted to him, which made him visibly uncomfortable. Shoyo’s jaw dropped. What the fuck was happening. “Don’t look at me like that. We know it’s childish, we’ll stop. It won’t distract our volleyball playing. Right, Shoyo?”, Tobio explained and let his hand fall down again. Shoyo, still with an open mouth, nodded his approval. Tobio seemed relieved Shoyo agreed with him. Which was ridiculous, what else was he going to do? He couldn’t shake the feeling away that Tobio was trying to save him from explaining. As if he knew that Shoyo would be in trouble. Which suggested that Tobio also had an idea why Shoyo did what he did. Then why was he letting Shoyo do it?

Finally, Shoyo realized that his mouth was still open and he closed it. He tossed the water bottle to Tobio and the two of them started changing like they should have been right from the start. They just finished when they noticed the rest of the team just standing there, looking at them with disbelieving faces. Shoyo looked at Tobio who seemed as lost as he was. Their confused looks must have helped the other members to find their composure because Yamaguchi cleared his throat and shook his head at a grinning Tsukishima. “Don’t you dare”, he exclaimed but the already defeated tone of his voice hinted that he knew it was a lost cause. He was right, Tsukishima’s smirk grew and he looked at the two boys: “So what happened? I knew you both were ‘best buddies’ but I never would have thought that either one of you would admit that. Especially to each other.” Shoyo was dumbfounded. What was happening? Apparently Tobio thought the same because he turned to Tsukishima and snapped: “What do you mean?”. Tsukishima didn’t let himself be bothered and looked Tobio in the eyes. “Well, something must have happened if you of all people call Shrimpy by his given name and defend him in front of everyone here.” First Shoyo was still as confused as before. How did Tsukishima know? They never did it in front of other people. Then, realization dawned on him. Panicked he looked at Tobio who appeared to have come to the same conclusion. His face was getting even redder and he looked mortified. As if to confirm it, Yamaguchi said in a quiet and soft voice: “Kageyama you said Shoyo before.”. Tsukishima seemed to love the current situation because he sounded happy (happy! Tsukishima!) when he added: “I’ll bet Shrimpy here calls King by his given name too.”. Shoyo waited for Tobio’s ‘Don’t call me that’ but it never came. Tobio seemed lost. He was just standing there open mouthed. So, he decided to do something and hoped Tobio wouldn’t be mad at him for it. Shoyo took a deep breath and proclaimed: “As a matter of fact I do. But I don’t see how it’s anyone’s business.”. He grabbed his bag and started towards the door when he glanced back. Tobio was still standing there, looking lost. Shoyo couldn’t leave him like that, he looked so helpless. So, he turned around, grabbed his friend by the wrist and pulled him out of the clubroom. Fortunately, Tobio was clutching his bag with one hand and it didn’t get left behind.

Shoyo dragged Tobio with him and when he reached a relatively private part of their school halted. Tobio looked like he had stopped working. “Tobio”. Shoyo tried to get his setters attention and poked him. After repeating Tobio’s name a little louder, he blinked a few times and then stared at Shoyo. “Fucking finally”, Shoyo muttered and then smiled at the other boy. Tobio looked around and when he saw that they were alone finally started to function again. “Shoyo”, he whispered, which made Shoyo’s heart skip a beat. “Shoyo”, Tobio said again, this time a bit more sure of himself. “I’m so sorry.”. Shoyo nearly melted. He never witnessed Tobio being soft like that. No, now that he thought about it, he did. When Tobio confessed to Shoyo that he was gay he acted similar. But he left quickly and Shoyo was too busy sorting his own feelings, so he didn’t immediately run after him. He remembered their first hug right after Shoyo confessed as well. Shoyo did the only thing he could think of and pulled Tobio into an embrace. The other boy stiffened but then relaxed against Shoyo and returned the hug. “It’s alright. Really. I don’t mind. I mean you are my best friend you can call me Shoyo, even in front of other people.”. Shoyo cringed at himself for saying ‘best friend’ when he wanted to be so much more than that. “Yeah… Best friend”, Tobio repeated and took a deep breath. He broke the hug off and took a step back. After clearing his throat, he added: “I don’t know why I was so shocked about all of this. Just forget about it okay?”. Unsure what else to say Shoyo nodded. “That reminds me: Might tone it down with your pranks or whatever they are.”, Tobio appeared to be back to his usual cocky self. After a pause he added, this time a little shy again: “I’ll hug you, even if you aren’t an annoying idiot”. With those upbeat words he nodded his goodbye at Shoyo and walked away. Shoyo just stood there. Did he just? “You knew?!!”, Shoyo yelled, running to catch up to his friend. Shoyo was breathing hard from his sprint but he tried his hardest to look intimidating. Tobio raised his eyebrows at him and smirked: “Please. It was so obvious.”. Shoyo decided to stay silent. Well, fuck. “And stop playing around with that stupid keychain.”, Tobio glared at the side of the bag where it hanged. Shoyo let the keychain go. When did he even start playing around with it? 

The next day the mood in the clubroom was weird. Shoyo tried his best to act naturally with Tobio but he could feel the glances in his direction. He tried his best to ignore them too. Practice itself didn’t cause any problems. On the contrary, Shoyo was feeling amazing today. He felt as if he jumped higher and received better. Tobio seemed to be in a good form as well, the sets he made for Shoyo were always exactly where he spiked them the best. By the time practice was over, Shoyo had the feeling they’d only just begun. Unfortunately, today they couldn’t stay longer because the team had a meeting about the planned training camp the next week. So Shoyo sighed and helped the other players clean up the court. During practice the mood had shifted and the situation from the day before appeared to be forgotten. 

“Okay, now that the general stuff has been decided, I will let you know some details about where we’ll be staying. The house has a few rooms more than anticipated so we can use three of them as bedrooms. I suggest every year group gets a room. Bathing times are the same as always, third years first and so on.”. Shoyo hadn’t really been paying attention to what Takeda Sensei was saying but now he perked up. He totally forgot that in training camp he will be spending all of his time with Tobio. Including sleeping and bathing. There wasn’t alone time at home to calm down and prepare for the next day. How could Shoyo forgot such a crucial fact? He glanced at Tobio, who sat next to him. He didn’t seem to react to the words of the coach. Probably because he didn’t forget like himself. Or he just didn’t care. He tried to listen to the coach again but his mind drifted quickly. Did he like the fact that he will be able to spend so much time with his crush or was he downright terrified? Probably a bit of both. Shoyo decided to be mature about his problem. He ignored it as best as he could. 

“Where is he?”, Natsu asked and looked around in a way that every person who saw her knew she was looking for someone. That someone being Tobio. In a moment of weakness Shoyo told his sister that he maybe had a little crush on his setter. It was obviously a mistake because Natsu never knew how to shut up. His parents stood next to them, taking in the scene at the parking space where the club bus was parked, ready for the following journey. Almost the whole team was already here, talking to each other or their families. In the year before Shoyo went alone but this time Natsu wanted to see Tobio. Her explanation being, that it was a long time since she saw him and she had to know if he was good enough for her brother. Of course, Shoyo’s parents heard that and decided to come as well. Shoyo sighed. He waved to Yamaguchi who was talking to a woman who looked like his mum. Yamaguchi smiled and waved back. “Was that Kageyama-kun?” inquired his dad, making Shoyo groan loud. Not him as well, it was bad enough with Natsu and his mum. He vehemently shook his head, wondering how long he had to endure this hell. “Well, when is he coming? Is he late? I want to see if he is as cute as you say he is.”, Natsu went on. Shoyo was just about to sigh again when he spotted Tobio and Miwa coming closer right behind his parents. He froze. Fuck, fuck, fuck, did Tobio hear Natsu? Tobio’s steps faltered but other than that he acted like nothing happened. Miwa was grinning but she was a generally happy person, so she could just be smiling because it was sunny or something. Oh fuck. Again, Stupid Natsu. Why did he ever tell her? 

“Shoyo why do you look like you have to shit?”, Natsu asked and their mother exclaimed: “Natsu!”. “Sorry, go to the toilet.”, Natsu corrected herself and Shoyo could hear snickering. The rest of the Hinata’s turned to the sound and discovered Tobio and his sister standing there.

With a smile on her face Natsu called out: “Kageyama-san! You’re taller than last time!”. Tobio was flustered and answered: “Hi Hinata-chan. Yeah I guess but it’s been a while so…”. ‘Cute’, thought Shoyo and momentarily forgot about the shame from before. Tobio turned to Shoyo and smiled: “Hello Shoyo”, to which Shoyo answered with “Hi Tobio”, voice definitely a little shaky. Natsu looked from Shoyo to Tobio and went ‘Oh’. Shoyo ignored her and introduced his parents to his friend. Tobio introduced his sister, who was still grinning, as well. Natsu nudged Shoyo in the side and whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear: “I didn’t know you use your given names. Also, Kageyama-san is so pretty. My brother has game.”. Why can’t she just shut up. This was the second time in five minutes. Before Shoyo could die from embarrassment his mother interrupted Natsu and asked Tobio if he was looking forward to the training camp to which he nodded and started gushing about playing volleyball.

Miwa turned to Shoyo and Natsu and started a conversation with them: “You look so much alike. Hinata-kun you have such a cute sister.”. Natsu was delighted by the compliment and replied back: “You’re so beautiful yourself Kageyama-san! And your brother too.”. Shoyo’s jaw dropped. Did he see Natsu blush right now? Miwa giggled and laid a hand on Natsu’s head. “Well, you’re out of luck, Tobio-chan likes someone else.” She then proceeded to look Shoyo in the eyes and winked. Shoyo didn’t know how to react to all of that. Apparently Tobio had a crush. He should have known. No chance for him. But still. Maybe Tobio had a crush on him? Miwa did just wink at him. Or did she just do that because she wanted to make a little fun of Natsu? A tug on his hair brought him back to reality. “Oy, Idi- Shoyo. What are you talking about?” Natsu grinned and looked at the two boys: “About your crush.”. With only three words she completely broke Tobio. He froze and his face was getting red. But Shoyo couldn’t be happy about it for long because Natsu continued to ruin his life by declaring that Shoyo also had a crush. Shoyo must have looked about the same as Tobio. Thankfully, his parents intervened and changed the subject. They talked a bit about school and not long after, the coaches called the team together. Hastily the two boys said their goodbyes to the Hinata’s and Miwa. Shoyo hugged his parents and Natsu. He patted Natsu on the head and glared at her: “You’re lucky we aren’t alone. When I come home, be prepared for revenge.”. Natsu just laughed and swatted his hand away. Shoyo waited for Tobio who was still talking to his sister. Miwa was whispering something in his ear which made him blush profusely and after that he hugged her and came over to Shoyo. They jogged to the rest of the team and boarded the bus.

The bus was relatively loud, all the boys full of energy and talking to each other. Shoyo was sitting next to Tobio, which was simultaneously the best and the worst thing. It was the best because this gave Shoyo the opportunity to talk to Tobio for a long time. It was the worst because Shoyo was still thinking about Natsu and how she nearly spilled his secret. “Ignore Natsu, she’s stupid!”, he blurted out. Tobio turned his head, a very confused look on his face: “What?”. Shoyo gulped and tried to explain himself. “Well, she kind of told a lot of weird things today? I don’t know just forget everything.”, Shoyo was looking at his bag and noticed that he was fidgeting with his keychain again. Will he ever stop with that? Suddenly, a hand came over his and stopped him from fidgeting. He looked up, shocked. Tobio seemed to be shocked by it as well but didn’t pull back. He cleared his throat and tried to explain himself: “I really hate that dumb keychain. Why is there a bell? You’re not a cat or something, nobody has to hear you.”. Shoyo was speechless and just stared at Tobio’s hand on his. Regaining his senses Tobio pulled his hand back. “Sorry”, he murmured and turned his head so he could watch out the window. “Wow that keychain really irritates you. But I won’t be buying a new one, told you already.”. Feeling a little bold, Shoyo added: “Guess you’ll have to stop me another way.”. Tobio scoffed but then turned back, grinning at Shoyo. “Guess so.”, he answered in a voice that made Shoyo nearly hyperventilate. Can’t he react normally to this boy? Since his ‘gay awakening’ for Tobio, acting like usual with him became increasingly difficult. 

Shoyo rummaged through his bag, searching for his headphones. After a few minutes of frantically searching for them, he still came up empty. Of course he forgot his headphones on a day like this. He sighed and leaned back in his seat. Looked like he had to sing his songs in his head. He was just about to start thinking of his favourite song when a finger poked into his side. Shoyo turned his head and saw Tobio holding the right part of his headphones in his direction. He didn’t say anything but Shoyo understood nonetheless. He took it from his friend and put it in his ear. There was no music playing which confused him but then he could hear Tobio saying: “Wait a minute, I’m looking for songs.”. He wondered what kind of music Tobio would like. Since it was Tobio it was probably something shitty. Shoyo waited patiently, grateful to even have the opportunity to listen to music, even if it’s shitty music from Tobio. 

Just when he was about to ask when Tobio planned to let actual music play, a song started. And oh, what a song it was. Shoyo looked at Tobio. His reaction must have been exactly what Tobio wanted to see because his setter was trying hard to hold back his laughter and lifted a hand in excuse. He switched the song and looked expectantly at Shoyo. What was this idiot doing? The question must have been written on his face because Tobio sneered and switched again. “What the fuck Bakageyama?”, Shoyo exclaimed, now holding back his laughter as well. Tobio full out laughed now. He had the time of his life playing different songs with the word ‘Idiot’. There were actually quite a lot, Shoyo wouldn’t have thought it. Tobio continued to show off different songs, all containing ‘Idiot’, or some variation of it. Shoyo contributed a few he knew as well and soon they were at it for about twenty minutes, the two laughing like crazy. They only stopped when Yamaguchi told them to be quieter for the fifth time. However even without the songs playing they still had to hold back their laughter. This made the whole situation even funnier but Tsukishima was glaring at them, so they really tried their best. “What songs do you like?”, Tobio asked him after they finally calmed down a bit. Delighted that Tobio would play his songs Shoyo smiled his brightest smile he could and proceeded to tell him his top hits. The other boy saved them in a playlist titled ‘songs for boke’ and let it play on shuffle. Shoyo was overjoyed and couldn’t believe it. Here he was, having the time of his life with Tobio. The desire to kiss the other boy grew. At the thought he blushed and looked down at his hands. If he knew that this was going to happen, he would have left his headphones at home voluntarily.

Shoyo didn’t remember falling asleep but it obviously must have happened because his head was leaning on Tobio’s shoulder. Before he could contemplate if he should exploit the situation and pretend to be asleep, he heard Tobio’s voice: “Welcome back to the living, dumbass.”. Tobio’s voice was deep and a little raspy. It really wasn’t fair to Shoyo. Tobio had to be attractive, he had to have a nice voice, he had to be good at volleyball and as if it wasn’t already enough, he had to set to Shoyo, making him feel invincible. Why must he be so perfect. Well, not perfect, he was treating Shoyo like shit. But in a good way? And lately he seemed to do a lot of nice things to him. Like the playlist from before. He’s probably going to delete it soon enough but Shoyo could dream. Not being able to pretend like he’s sleeping Shoyo lifts his head from Tobios shoulders and opens his eyes. Tobio is playing a game on his phone. For the rest of the bus ride they passed the time with Shoyo trying to give Tobio valuable tips to win the game and Tobio ignoring them completely. Soon the team arrived at the house where they were staying at. Excited to start training week Shoyo bounced out of the bus and ran inside the house to inspect it. He ignored Tsukishima’s comment (“Why is he running, he’s a third year and it’s not his first training camp!") and marveled at his new home for the following week. The bathroom was amazing and he couldn’t wait to try it out this evening. Preferably with Tobio. The room they were sharing was quite small but big enough for the four third years to lie comfortable on their futons. Shoyo thought about something to convince Tobio to sleep next to him but before he could come up with a good reason, his friend already put his futon down next to him and dropped down on it. Shoyo couldn’t stop himself from grinning, satisfied with the development of this day. 

His day got even better when Yamaguchi told him over dinner that he would share the bath with Tsukishima and Shoyo could go second with Tobio. A big smile formed on his lips and he glanced towards Tobio. His friend was still shoveling rice into his mouth like he hadn’t eaten in years. The only confirmation he got about Tobio hearing what Yamaguchi just told was a little shrug with the shoulders. Even if he was excited about the prospect of sharing a bath with Tobio, over the course of dinner he got more and more nervous when he thought about what would happen. It would be hard to pretend like he only liked Tobio as a friend when he saw him naked. Would he even be able to talk to him?

When they finally walked to the bath, he got so nervous he didn’t speak anymore. If Tobio noticed anything, he didn’t comment on it which Shoyo was relieved about. To prevent him on staring too much Shoyo hurried to change so he could use the shower quickly. He didn’t take into consideration that his speed resulted in him waiting in the bath for Tobio. Which meant he would see Tobio coming to join him naked. The exact thing he tried to avoid. He felt himself blushing again and was glad that he could explain it with being in warm water, if Tobio happened to ask him about it. The sounds of the shower finally ceased and a freshly showered Tobio walked towards the bath. Shoyo knew Tobio had a good body. He fought enough with him to have felt the toned muscles under the shirt. The thing is, knowing and seeing are different things. His eyes widened just a little when he caught sight of Tobio’s abs. Before he could start to stare too much, he averted his eyes and tried to ignore the weird feeling in his stomach.


	8. Tobio

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I want to thank you for all the Kudos and comments and everything :) It makes me so happy! This was/is just a little hobby of mine, the fact that people actually read this is mindblowing.  
> A little update: A friend of mine is currently proofreading but it'll probably be a while until they're finished with it. So I will probably edit it and correct some stuff when the story is already finished.  
> Two chapters left after this one! I know how I want to end the story, so it's only a matter of time until I've written everything down.

Tobio was about 70% sure that Shoyo liked him back. Over the last weeks he made several observations that supported this thesis.

The biggest indicator was probably that Shoyo actively tried to seek out his hugs. After the evening of their first embrace, Tobio started to hug Shoyo when his mood was extra bad. Shoyo’s hugs were calming and he instantly felt better after every embrace. Of course, in the beginning he was terrified of being rejected by Shoyo. But the smaller boy never said anything against it. Then Tobio’s things mysteriously began to vanish and Shoyo was extra clumsy and annoying to him. He was scared that this was how Shoyo wanted to show him he didn’t like the hugs. Still, he couldn’t stop himself for hugging him in the evening anyway. He was watching him closely this time and observed a smile on Shoyo’s face after the hug. His friend didn’t seem to mind it at all and even appeared content. So Tobio didn’t stop with the hugs. Soon he figured out that Shoyo teased him only enough that he was in a bad enough mood to hug him in the evening. It was never big things, just minor inconveniences. Besides the hugs, Shoyo seemed to look at him more often. There was always a big smile on his face when he said ‘Tobio’ and Shoyo touched him way more than before. Lastly, he recognized that his friend seemed to blush in certain situations, which he knew from experience, was something that happens a lot when you are around your crush. However, all this wouldn’t have convinced Tobio of the possibility that Shoyo could have a crush on him. Like always, it was Miwa who pointed out the obvious after another one of their talks.

“I don’t want to shock you, but have you considered the possibility that he likes you back?”, Miwa inquiered after Tobio freaked out over Shoyo’s behaviour once again. Tobio froze and stopped scooping food in his mouth. Mouth still open, he dropped his hand with the food. It must have looked pretty dumb because Miwa laughed and continued: “Don’t look at me like that. From what I’ve heard, that’s definitely stuff people do when they have a crush.”. She shrugged her shoulders and picked a big piece of chicken of Tobio’s plate. Tobio just scratched his head and murmured that he himself wouldn’t act like that. Miwa rolled her eyes and with a full mouth proclaimed: “Not everyone has the capacity of a stone when it comes to human interactions.”. Tobio looked at her. “What Shoyo does is good human interaction?”. His sister chuckled and lay her chopsticks down. “Yeah no, you’re right, it isn’t.”. Miwa interrupted Tobio’s exclamations and explained herself: “He probably feels the same as you. Unsure if you have a crush on him. Honestly, I don’t blame him the way you act around people. Poor guy.”. Tobio hit her to stop her rant about him. “Ouch…Tobio-chan stop it! …Well, my guess is since he now knows both of you are into guys he’s trying to get closer to you? ”. Tobio looked thoughtful at his hands. He never thought about it like that. Could it really be? He thought back to all his observations. Especially the hug thing. He knew Shoyo acted a certain way to get more hugs from him. He always thought Shoyo meant that in a friendly way but he had to admit that it was not something any normal person would do to just get a hug from a friend. But then again, Shoyo was a weird boy and all that could just be counted for as Shoyo behaviour to a very good friend. The hope remained though, bigger than ever, his heart beating faster. He felt the beginning of a smile on his face. His sister nudged his side, grinning and visibly happy for him.

After meeting Shoyo’s family before the training camp and hearing Natsu’s comments, which definitely weren’t intended for his ears, he got to the conclusion that Miwa was probably right. Still, a small chance of Shoyo not liking him remained and that’s how he rated the possibility of it at about 70%. This realization made it a little hard to concentrate on the conversation with the Hinata’s. When the coaches told everyone that they would leave in five minutes and they should say their goodbyes, Tobio felt a wave of relief rush through him. However, a new problem already arose. Leaving meant more time with Shoyo alone. How the fuck was he going to act around him now? Once again it was Miwa who saved him. When she hugged him to say goodbye, she whispered into his ear: “He definitely likes you back, don’t worry. Talk to him and be nice. Maybe get closer, like touching and stuff? Or kiss him, that’ll do the trick as well.”. Tobio could feel his cheeks blushing and had to restrain himself from kicking his sister. Instead, he glared at her, which resulted in a big grin from Miwa in return. He jogged with Shoyo to the bus and thought about the tips his sister gave him. The kissing part was certainly not happening, but he could try to be nicer to Shoyo and talk to him more. Tobio sighed. He owed Miwa a big and nice birthday present, didn’t he?

For all his seemingly level-headed observations, Tobio was distracted by the smaller boy. A lot. The prospect of Shoyo liking him back put a lot of things into a new perspective. For example, this whole training camp. The bus ride in itself was a whole workout for Tobio’s heart. He tried to interact more with Shoyo and, Miwa be damned, it worked out well for him. Shoyo seemed to be very happy and even fell asleep on him which was the cutest thing ever. However, now Tobio was facing bigger problems. Normally their time in the bath was just something they did. This was not the case anymore. The fact that his crush was naked right beside him made it ten times harder to start changing and thus revealing his body as well. He was so distracted by it, that when he heard Shoyo enter the shower, he hadn’t even taken off his shirt. Tobio forced himself to ban any thoughts of Shoyo and hurried up with changing. 

Shoyo was already in the bath when Tobio came out of the shower, towel around his hips. He put the towel on the designated spot next to the bath and, covering as much as possible of his naked body, Tobio joined Shoyo in the bath. It was an exceptionally nice bath. There were different sizes of steps to sit on, kind of like a stair into the bath. The water temperature was exactly the way Tobio liked it (not to hot and still not too cold) and everything was squeaky clean. Besides the quality of the bath, there was also the quality of his company. Normally with the standard baths, Shoyo’s body was mostly underwater, which left only his head to stare at. In this particular bath however, Shoyo sat a step higher and Tobio could see his chest and part of his stomach. Since their first year Shoyo gained a lot of muscles and his body was very defined by now. Tobio wondered how it would feel like to trace his hands along the muscles and was suddenly very thankful for the bath additive that made it impossible to see through the water.

He distracted himself with thinking about volleyball and how they could train together for a whole week. With a smile on his face, he started to talk about it and soon enough the tension surrounding them was gone. The two boys didn’t realize that they shifted closer to each other while they were talking. Only when Tobio hit Shoyo in the stomach while trying to explain an attack he recently saw in a volleyball match, it dawned on them. Tobio’s eyes widened and he looked at Shoyo while apologizing about hitting him. He usually never apologized for stuff like that, at least not this profusely, but right now it was different somehow. His friend held one hand on his stomach but promised that everything was alright. “Show me where I hit you.”, Tobio insisted and slowly Shoyo moved his hand away. Like Shoyo said, there was nothing to be seen. After all, Tobio didn’t hit him with full force, it was just a little slap. 

Nonetheless Tobio lifted his hand and slowly approached the place where he hit his friend. When his fingers touched the spot on Shoyo’s stomach, the smaller boy flinched. Tobio shifted his gaze to the others face to see if it was because of pain but the expression on his face said otherwise. He focussed on the spot again, brushing his finger over it. He felt the muscles under his finger tense. “Does it hurt?”, Tobio asked, even though he already knew the answer. Shoyo shook his head and breathed a ‘no’. Tobio placed his whole hand on the spot which resulted in Shoyo inhaling a deep breath of air. Thinking of stopping, Tobio looked back into the face of his friend. The look on his face resembled his own. Longing, wanting and uncertainty lingering in it. What would happen if Tobio were to kiss him right here? He took a shaky breath and seriously thought about it when a knock interrupted them. Quickly they shifted away from each other, remembering where they were. “How long are you going to be in the bath? It’s been a while and it’s already half past eight.”, a voice asked from behind the bathroom door. “We’re co..”, Shoyo started with a croaky voice, then cleared his throat and tried again: “We’re coming. Give us five minutes.”. They heard a sound of approval and steps moving away from the door. Shoyo looked at him and seemed unsure what to do. Finally, he murmured: “We have to go.”. Tobio nodded. He felt like saying something about the situation but didn’t know what, so he just stayed quiet. “Well..”, Shoyo started again, now shifting towards the exit of the bad. Tobio quietly followed him. From the reaction of Shoyo, Tobio was now 80% sure he liked him back. Did this mean he should just confess to him? In the end, he decided to wait a bit longer.

When they entered the room they shared with their fellow third years, Yamaguchi eyed them suspiciously. He didn’t say anything but Tobio had the feeling their captain knew something was up. Tsukishima was listening to music but smirked at them: “Well hello, Lovebirds. Took you long enough.”. Shoyo next to him tensed at the declaration and Tobio looked at their friend with an especially angry glare. Yamaguchi sensed the tension and quickly jumped up from his futon to start a conversation not involving the bath. Shoyo enthusiastically joined in and soon enough the two were talking eagerly. Tobio plopped down on his own futon and took out his phone, only to see a message from his sister.  
**From Miwa:** tobio-chan don’t disappoint me. Kiss him.

As if she knew what happened. Tobio thought back to the bath. He nearly kissed Shoyo even though he decided that kissing was definitely not happening. His crush was bigger than he thought. Tobio sighed, read the message again and answered.  
 **To Miwa:** are you crazy? I only want to kiss him if I’m 100% sure he likes me back. I’m at 80% now.

He thought about adding that he nearly kissed him in the bath but decided against it. Miwa wouldn’t leave him alone if she knew. He hit sent and it only took seconds for his sister to answer.  
 **From Miwa:** Wtf tobioooo From Miwa: Why are you thinking like it’s a math test or something  
 **From Miwa** : but if you do  
 **From Miwa:** 80% is a passed grade so no excuses. Kiss him. Btw he’s really cute you have taste baby brother.  
Tobio sighed again but had to smile a little.  
 **To Miwa:** shut up.  
 **From Miwa:** never!  
 **To Miwa:** but I guess you’re right he is really cute.  
 **From Miwa:** A good reason to kiss him 😉

Tobio groaned and put his phone away. He got questioning looks from his friends and tried to explain: “Just my sister. She’s bothering me again.”. Tsukishima raised his eyebrows but didn’t say anything else. He probably knew how annoying siblings could be. Yamaguchi answered with ‘it surely isn’t that bad’ and Shoyo nodded, turned to Yamaguchi and said: “His sister is like the nicest person ever. Totally different from Bakageyama.”. Why was he crushing on this boy again? “OY, idiot!” He searched for something to throw at Shoyo but came up empty. Shoyo smirked at him. “She’s only nice to other people. To me, she’s like super mean.”, Tobio defended himself. The others laughed and then Shoyo sat down on his futon as well. “I think my sister’s worse. She’s a demon. It’s like she only exists to torture me.”, Shoyo complained and everyone laughed again. They continued to talk to each other until they were so exhausted that they had to sleep.

Practice the next day was hard. Not in a way that it was hard for him to set to his friend, but in a way that he let his mind wander to the feeling of touching Shoyo. It got so bad that he set the ball in Shoyo’s face and his spiker had to sit out for a while because of the nosebleed. Tobio did call him a dumbass for that one but it was entirely his own fault. He was a bit angry at himself, he shouldn’t let things mess with his volleyball skills. So, for the rest of practice, he focussed all his thoughts on the game. It worked surprisingly well, even when Shoyo came back into the game again. As soon as training ended though, his thoughts about their moment came to mind again. Even though he was quite sure that Shoyo seemed to like him as well, he didn’t want to risk anything this training camp. He should concentrate on talking and being nice to him until he was 100% sure Shoyo liked him back. Miwa would kill him for this logic, but Miwa wasn’t here. When it was time to bath again, he stayed on his side and kept his distance. Throughout the week he kept this new rule up. It worked, although he could see Shoyo being a bit confused about it after the stunt Tobio pulled on the first day. But Shoyo never addressed it, so Tobio continued to act according to his new rule.

Soon the last day of training camp arrived and after a long and hard day of practicing the team was invited for refreshments outside. Different drinks were offered and an assortment of snacks ready to be eaten stood there as well. Freshly showered, all the boys couldn’t ask for more and didn’t hesitate to eat and drink to their hearts content. Tobio grabbed himself a strawberry milkshake and some cake and looked around for Shoyo. “Are you looking for me?”, he heard his friends voice from behind him. Tobio turned to him and answered: “No, actually I’m looking for something to eat.”. Shoyo raised an eyebrow and glanced at the cake in Tobio’s hand. Tobio grumbled and took a bite of his cake. His friend just snorted and asked him if it was good to which Tobio could only nod because, damn, this cake was good. Shoyo smiled, grabbed a piece for himself and then put his hand around Tobio’s wrist. He pulled him to a bench. There he sat down gesturing to his friend to do the same. Tobio did as he was asked and placed himself next to Shoyo. For a while the two boys just enjoyed their company in quiet and ate their snacks.

When they both finished their cakes Shoyo marvelled: “Soon the real matches start.”. Tobio nodded, excitement flooding through him. This year presented a new, and their last, chance for winning at nationals. Both boys eagerly hyped themselves up for the upcoming matches. Then something came to Tobio’s mind. Abruptly he stopped talking, which caused Shoyo to turn his face with a questioning look on it. “What’s the date of the first match again?”, Tobio asked Shoyo carefully, hoping his assumption was wrong. When Shoyo told him the date he couldn’t stop himself from gaping at his best friend and internally groaning. “What?”, snorted Shoyo, a trace of uncertainty becoming audible in his voice. “Your birthday”, the setter blurted out and added: “It’s the week before.”. “Uhm yes. I know. I don’t want to celebrate it, after all we have to practice.”, Shoyo replied sheepishly, a touch of disappointment in his answer. He grabbed Tobio’s milkshake to drink from it. Tobio just let him, too stunned with this revelation. How could he forget? He vaguely remembered Shoyo wanting to celebrate his birthday last year and they went to a restaurant with the whole team. Noya planned it for him. This year Noya wasn’t in the team anymore and nobody planned anything. Tobio was angry with himself. It was his task as Shoyo’s best friend to plan this sort of stuff and he totally forgot. Why was he so bad at being a decent person? Guiltily, he glanced at Shoyo, who already didn’t seem to be thinking about his birthday anymore and mindlessly drank Tobio’s milkshake. Tobio sighed and looked at Shoyo: “Don’t plan anything for after school on your birthday.”. His friend coughed and put the milkshake down. Staring at Tobio, he could only answer with a ‘what’ and Tobio looked down at his legs. “You heard me”, he decided to answer, not elaborating further. He could feel Shoyo’s gaze on him but the smaller boy didn’t say anything more.

After the refreshments the boys had some free time to spend like they wanted and the third years decided to use the time to hang out, after all it was their last year together. Well, actually the decision came from Yamaguchi and Shoyo but Tsukishima and Tobio didn’t argue against it. If he was honest with himself, Tobio enjoyed the time with his fellow classmates and team members. He counted them as his few friends. Usually, Tobio was quiet but listened to the conversations, answering when Shoyo included him for the hundredth time. This time was no different, although he was a bit distracted thinking about his friend’s birthday and what he should plan for it. What would Shoyo like? Also, what is he going to give him? He needed a good present. “Tobio”. Tobio looked up to see three faces staring at him. Oh. “You haven’t heard a single thing right now, right?”, Shoyo asked. Tobio made a face and heard Yamaguchi and Tsukishima snorting. Shoyo just sighed and repeated what he told before.

When they were on their way home the next day, he let Shoyo have the window seat. His friend was very happy about it and Tobio didn’t really mind, as long as he could sit next to him. Without losing another word he took out his headphones and gave one of the speakers to Shoyo. It was worth it, Shoyo had the biggest smile on his face and when Tobio let the ‘songs for boke’ playlist play, he could swear Shoyo’s smile grew even bigger. He allowed himself a smile as well and started thinking about the perfect birthday gift for Shoyo again. Maybe something with volleyball? Tobio decided to ask his sister again. He didn’t like to admit it but he relied on her a lot.  
**To Miwa:** what kind of present should I give him???

Tobio let his phone rest on his legs and looked over to Shoyo. His crush was looking outside the window. He looked peaceful. Tobio became aware of his desire to be near him, to touch him again. His heart was beating faster. Shoyo looked good. He changed a lot from his first year self, he has gotten older and more mature. In looks anyway. He was still an idiot. He glanced down. Shoyo’s hand lay there, in the middle of the two seats. Tobio’s own hand was on his leg. If he would move it a little to the right it would be on Shoyo’s hand. Should he move it? He lifted his hand slowly, still contemplating if he should just put it on the other boys hand, when his cellphone vibrated. Tobio quickly retracted his hand and grabbed his cellphone.  
 **From Miwa:** oh it’s his birthday soon? How about a kiss?

Tobio was about to get angry again. Was his sister obsessed with kissing or something? He was about to send an impolite reply when his phone vibrated again.  
 **From Miwa:** jk. Something personal.

Something personal?  
 **To Miwa:** So nothing with volleyball?  
 **From Miwa:** I mean volleyball is like your love language, so I guess it’s not a bad idea. But it should be something that’s special to the two of you. Not just new shoes or something. Know what I mean?

Something special. Tobio glanced at Shoyo again. He was summing along with a song. It was a weird song and Tobio would never listen to it by himself but right now together with Shoyo it was the best song he’d ever heard. He was still staring at Shoyo when the smaller boy turned away from the window and looked right into his eyes. “Are you watching me?”, Shoyo asked. Tobio gulped. Caught in the act. He tried to find an excuse but couldn’t find one. He cleared his throat and decided to answer honestly (Miwa’s tip: be nice): “No, I just thought that it’s nice like that… with you.”. His face felt hot again and he just hoped that it wouldn’t be too visible in the bus. Shoyo’s eyes widened a bit and Tobio could hear him take a breath. Shoyo scratched the back of his head, eyes focussing on his legs, and replied to him: “It is.”. His voice wasn’t loud but Tobio could hear him clear. Shoyo’s eyes darted back into Tobio’s and now it was Tobio who had to take a deep breath. “I didn’t think you would keep the playlist.”. “Of course I would! It’s from you.”. Did he really just say that? Embarrassing. “I mean… I kept it in case we had to listen together again?”. He cringed. That didn’t make it better. In truth he had listened to this playlist nearly every evening this training camp. It calmed him down like Shoyo’s hugs and he fell asleep much faster. An annoying and well-known sound took him out of his thoughts. “Oy, stop with that fucking keychain!”, Tobio bellowed and saw Shoyo flinch. Instantly, he was sorry. But Shoyo didn’t seem to mind and just smirked. He repeated the same sentence he had said so many times: “If it annoys you so much, buy me a new one.”. And for the first time, Tobio took the words serious.


	9. Shoyo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to format a little different with shorter paragraphs. I edited the other chapters to this new format as well. I hope it's easier to read now.  
> Also, the next chapter will be the final one, we're nearly done!
> 
> Thanks again for reading, liking and commenting! I still can't believe there are so many people reading this.

Shoyo woke up because his sister decided to jump on his bed and sing, or rather scream, the birthday song. He truly tried hard to be angry, but he failed. Since he was a small boy Shoyo loved birthdays. He didn’t exactly know why, he just did. It didn’t have to be his own birthday either, he loved to celebrate other people’s birthdays as well. Maybe it was just the way one tends to pay special attention to the birthday person. In the last two years his own birthday fell a little flat because there were always the matches around the same time in the year. Which was a little sad, but Volleyball was more important than his birthday. Still, Shoyo couldn’t deny that he missed celebrating his birthday to the fullest. 

His sister being extra happy about his birthday was infectious and soon a big grin has planted itself on Shoyo’s face. Soon enough his parents entered his room to congratulate him as well. By the time they descended the stairs to enjoy some breakfast, Shoyo felt exhilarated. His mum had prepared an extensive birthday breakfast with different fruits, bread, cheese and meat and pancakes. It looked like a buffet in an international hotel. Shoyo’s eyes sparkled and his dad chuckled. Pulling his parents into a warm hug he thanked them profusely for this amazing food. 

Shoyo inspected the different options for his meal, having a hard time deciding. He ended up taking a little bit of everything. Just about to start, he glanced over to Natsu who was already stuffing her mouth with pancakes. Indignantly he exclaimed: “Natsu, why are you eating already? I should be first, I’m the birthday boy!”. Natsu grinned wickedly and shrugged. “Not my fault you’re so slow.”, she offered helpfully. Shoyo huffed and took the first bite of his sandwich. It tasted amazing. 

Finishing his tasty meal with a chocolate milk, Shoyo sighed contently. He was full. Natsu stopped eating as well, leaning back in her chair. She eyed Shoyo and then asked as innocent as possible if he had anything planned for his birthday. Last year Noya planned something and took him and the team to a restaurant. This year he didn’t know. Tobio told him to keep this day free at the training camp but Tobio wasn’t good with people stuff, especially birthday wise, so he tried not to expect much. Yet there was still a part of him, a big one at that, that was indescribably excited about Tobio planning something for him. His excitement must have shown on his face because Natsu grinned and required: “Are you going to do something with Kageyama? Or should I say Tobio?”. 

At that, his parents looked up. Why was his whole family so invested in his non-existent love life? Right as he thought about it, his mother chipped in and demanded to know as well. Embarrassed Shoyo studied his hands as he quietly mumbled his answer. Even though letting his family know meant getting questioned on a daily basis, he still liked the conversations they had together and the advice he got out of it. His father chuckled and remarked that nobody could hear anything. Shoyo repeated himself, this time more audible: “He said I had to keep the evening free. I guess he planned something.”. The reaction of this simple words was instantaneous. While his father just smiled contently, his mother loudly cheered and Natsu shouted out loudly: “See, he likes you!”. Shoyo endured it silently, waiting for them to calm down. Sometimes he asked himself why his family was like this but secretly he was incredibly happy that they supported him like they did. Eventually his mother checked the watch and called it time to get ready: “After all, you need to look good for Kageyama-kun”. 

The weather was amazing, as if it planned to offer Shoyo a beautiful day of sunshine. Biking to school made him even happier. What a good start into his birthday. And if he was lucky, Tobio had something planned for him. The thought of that made him giddy and his heart skipped a beat. Damn, he really liked Tobio. Lately, he even had the feeling that his friend might like him back. But that could very well just be his emotions speaking. Out of nowhere the memory of Tobio’s hand on his stomach appeared in his mind. That evening in the bath was the reason his hopes of mutual love climbed higher than ever before. In that bath, he was sure Tobio was about to kiss him. Yet, in hindsight, it was only that one evening when Tobio acted like that, which made Shoyo unsure again. A sharp turn of the street made him snap out of his daydreaming and concentrating back to pedalling to school. He shook away every thought related to Tobio and tried to reach a new record time for the way to school. 

Shoyo failed to set a record by several minutes. ‘That’s what I get for thinking about other things while biking’, he thought and sighed. When he shoved his bike into the bike rack, he felt a presence behind him. Turning around he found himself face to face with his setter. “Happy Birthday Shoyo!”, Tobio cheered. Shoyo beamed back and thanked him. If possible, Shoyo got even more excited for the rest of the day. Wondering what Tobio might have planned for the evening, he allowed himself to examine his friend a little closer. Tobio’s hand rubbed his neck, eyes darting around. He seemed like he wanted to say or do something. Expectantly, Shoyo peered at him. Finally, Tobio let his hand drop and stuttered: “You didn’t plan anything tonight, right?”. Speechless, Shoyo’s jaw dropped. Did he hear correctly? Tobio did say that he had to keep it free, right? That wasn’t his imagination? Before he could lose his composure, he tried to reply with an even voice: “No, you said not to? Or did I understand wrong?”. Shoyo could see the tension fall from Tobio’s posture and released a breath himself as well. With a significantly calmer voice his friend tentatively smiled at him and stated: “Good because I planned something. We can do that after school.”. He seemed to think of something before he added: “Only if you want to, of course.”. 

Relieved that he was worried for no reason, Shoyo nicked eagerly. His friend appeared to have given this more thought than Shoyo gave him credit for. It almost felt like a date. His cheeks flushed and his chest tightened. He had to stop himself from thinking like that. For all he knew, Tobio just tried to be a good friend. Said good friend now stepped closer to him and hugged him. Shoyo’s heart skipped a beat as he pressed his body closer. His head rested on his setter’s chest. It was so close that he could smell Tobio’s scent. Only after a few seconds Shoyo noticed that his own heart wasn’t the only one beating really fast. Could it really be? Maybe he wasn’t that wrong with the assumption that Tobio liked him back. Thinking about addressing it, Shoyo released his grip a bit. 

Right as he searched for suitable words, arms that didn’t belong to Tobio slung themselves over his shoulder. Shoyo flinched but then he could hear Yamaguchi rejoicing: “Happy Birthday!”. Laughing Shoyo retreated from the hug with Tobio and smiled at him. Thanking his fellow teammate, he noticed Tsukishima standing next to them. With a serene voice he congratulated him as well. Before Shoyo could thank him properly he turned and stalked off to the gym for morning practice. Yamaguchi giggled and looked at Shoyo and Tobio. His eyes widened, only now noticing how close they were standing. A blush appeared under his freckles and he stuttered an apology, quickly following his friend. Flustered, Shoyo glanced at Tobio. “We should probably go as well.”, he managed to voice out and Tobio nodded. They started walking, neither of them increasing the distance between them. If any of the other team members noticed, they didn’t say anything. 

The whole day Shoyo was a mess. He couldn’t sit still and by the end of the day all his teachers seemed relieved to get rid of him. As soon as the last class started, he jumped off his seat and started packing up. Multiple people congratulated him by slapping his back or shouting from the other end of the room which received angry stares from the teacher. 

When Shoyo excited his classroom, he ran straight into Tobio, who let out a huff from the impact. What the hell was he doing here? Shoyo looked up and took a step back. “Idiot”, Tobio murmured but he didn’t sound like he meant it. “What are you doing here?”, Shoyo asked, honestly curious for the explanation. He knew that Tobio’s class wasn’t anywhere near him on this day. At that, Tobio blushed and he searched for an answer. He didn’t seem to find a proper one and finally shrugged his shoulders. Not looking Shoyo in the eyes he replied: “Just wanted to walk with you to practice.”. Shoyo was still trying to process this answer when something even more unbelievable happened. Tobio reached for his hand and pulled him with him. His hand was warm and Shoyo couldn’t help but think that their hands suited perfectly into each other. 

A few seconds passed before his brain caught up to what was happening. As soon as it clicked, he was freaking out. Tobio was holding his hand! In school! In front of everyone! That’s not something friends do. That’s something couples would do. Shoyo stared at the back of Tobio’s head. He didn’t notice the disbelieving stares they got, probably because he wore the same one on his own face.  
Tobio only let go of Shoyo’s hand when they walked into the clubroom. 

After practice Tobio and Shoyo took their time with changing. Yamaguchi glanced at them every so often and when he left with Tsukishima the later looked at them with a knowing smirk. Shoyo could feel himself blush. Finally, all the other team members left the clubroom and the two boys made an actual effort to change out of their uniforms. Shoyo finished first, which left him grinning at Tobio. His friend only shot him a quick look and grumbled: “I only let you win because of your birthday.”. Shoyo’s grin became bigger as he retorted: “Yeah sure”. Tobio only huffed. 

“Where are we going?”, Shoyo inquired. They were walking together somewhere, Tobio leading the way. His only reply to Shoyo’s question was “You’ll see.”. Shoyo allowed himself to peek at his setter. Once again, he remarked how attractive Tobio was. His blue eyes complimented his black hair. His face was really nice to look at and he had a hot body. Shoyo couldn’t stop his last thought. It was hard not to notice with all the changing together they do. He averted his gaze and concentrated on his own hands instead. His right hand was playing with the keychain again. How the fuck does it keep happening. Tobio appeared to have noticed it as well because his left hand next to Shoyo was clenched to a fist. What if he grabbed Tobio’s hand instead of playing with that keychain? It felt so good to walk hand in hand with him and he initiated it the last time so it should be okay, right? Before he could second guess himself, he let go of the keychain and grabbed his setter’s hand. Tobio flinched a bit but immediately unclenched his fist to allow Shoyo to intertwine their fingers. 

Shoyo was still thinking about how he will never let go of those hands when Tobio suddenly stopped. The redhead didn’t even pay attention to his surroundings when they walked, so he looked around their destination. They were situated next to the big football field. It was the place they first trained together. “Do you recognize it?”. What a dumb question. They still practiced here sometimes. Still, Shoyo knew how Tobio meant the question. He nodded and turned to Tobio. 

“Are we going to practice receiving again?”. Tobio snorted and then shook his head. He seemed to struggle to find the right words. “I just thought it would be good… I mean I want to give you your present here because it has importance, right? We started to play here and now we are like friends”. Tobio frowned at the word friends even though he was the one saying it. Shoyo just gaped at him as his friend gulped. “I have no clue what the fuck you just tried to say.”. Tobio looked visibly distressed. Whatever he wanted to say made him nervous. Which in turn made Shoyo nervous. His friend took a deep breath and then slowly removed his fingers from Shoyo’s hand. The smaller boy tried to ignore the sad feeling he got from that and concentrated on the actions of his friend instead. Tobio opened his bag and took a box out of it. Without saying another thing, he handed it to Shoyo and waited expectantly for him to open it.

It wasn’t a big box. Shoyo regarded it as if it contained everything he ever wanted. Which wasn’t that much of an exaggeration because he got a present from Tobio! He knew his friend planned something but he didn’t expect a present. His heartbeat picked up and he slowly lifted the lid. Inside was something silver, shaped like a volleyball. He took it out and studied it more closely. His jaw dropped and he gasped. His gaze turned to Tobio who was already looking at him. Shoyo’s eyes met the blue ones in front of him. He didn’t know what to say but he felt like he had to say something. Thinking about an appropriate answer he didn’t realize how much time passed since he received his gift. “You told me to buy it.”, Tobio exclaimed, his voice trembling and unsure. “Huh?”. Tobio groaned and slapped his hand on his forehead. “Why do I have to be so bad at this.”, he murmured and then took a deep breath. “You know I hate your dumb keychain. It’s so annoying. Why is there a fucking bell?”. Shoyo let out an exasperated sigh and yelled “Okay, I get it!”, which seemed to help because Tobio stopped his rambling. 

“You know I’m bad with people stuff, so just try to listen until I’m finished?”, Tobio explained and continued when he saw the smaller boy nodding: “Well, you always say I should get you a new one. So, I thought I will do that. And then I thought it should be about volleyball because you love volleyball. And Miwa said it should also be something personal. And I play volleyball as well. With you.”

“You play volleyball? Didn’t know that.”

Tobio glared at him and Shoyo snorted but gestured to his friend to continue. “I guess I just wanted to say that volleyball is important to you. And it’s also important to me. And I guess I came to realize that you helped me get better at it as well. If it wasn’t for you, I would be so lost. Because you showed me how to play in a team. And I mean you also got better by playing with me. At least I hope so. We’re a good team, I think. So instead of a random dumb keychain you can have one that means something to you.”

Shoyo was speechless. He looked at the keychain in his hand which now held a new meaning. How could Bakageyama be so bad at social interactions and then say something like that? He felt himself tear up. He didn’t know what to say but what he did know was what he wanted to do. Shoyo stepped closer and hugged Tobio. Actually, it came closer to squeezing. Tobio let out a quiet ‘oof’ but was quick to hug the smaller boy back. Shoyo was overwhelmed with his feelings, being relatively sure that Tobio wouldn’t do this for just a friend. But he didn’t want to say anything yet, he enjoyed the embrace. After a while he whispered a thanks to his setter, who chuckled and managed to squeeze Shoyo a little harder, to show him he heard.

When they finally ended their hug, Shoyo remembered something Tobio said. He grinned and prompted: “So Miwa helped?”. Tobio scowled at him but eventually admitted it. That explained the special spot they were at as well. It felt romantic. Did Miwa plan that on purpose? Did Miwa notice something? Or did she know from Tobio? Which meant that Tobio talked to her about them. But no matter how much evidence he could find of Tobio liking him, there was the part of him that wanted to be sure. The part of him that had doubts. The part of him that feared losing his first partner in volleyball and a best friend.

They ended up playing volleyball. It felt oddly reminiscent of the first few times they practiced together. The difference was their level of volleyball, which improved a lot in the last two years. After many ‘only one more’s from Shoyo, they had to stop because it was getting dark and they were hungry. Tobio treated Shoyo to meat buns. It felt more and more like an actual date and that wasn’t good for Shoyo’s nervousness. Nonetheless, on their walk home they talked and talked, not letting the nervousness get in the way. It felt really nice and a permanent smile plastered itself on Shoyo’s face. And if one would look closely, the same could be said for Tobio. 

Way too soon they arrived at the crossing where they usually parted. Their conversation faltered, both of them desperate to keep talking. It was Shoyo who had the saving idea. “Do you want to eat cake at my house? My parents and Natsu baked one for me, but I’m sure there’s enough for you too.”, he asked hopefully, eyeing his setter. Tobio looked surprised but was quick to agree, a smile making it’s way on his face.

“I’m home!”, Shoyo shouted into the house at the same time as Tobio let out a quiet “Sorry for intruding.”. Apparently, this resulted in Tobio getting drowned out, because Natsu yelled back: “How was your date with Kageyama?”. Shoyo internally groaned and externally got red as a tomato. Tobio next to him froze. Great. Natsu again with her stupid statements. What would Tobio think of him? Would he know he likes him? Was that good or bad? As if to stop his train of thought, Natsu turned around the corner and was just about to say something when she noticed Tobio. She blanched but recovered faster than the two boys. “Oh, you’re here.”, was her only response to the situation. Shoyo wanted to die and Tobio let out a ‘yes’ with a way higher voice than usual, followed with a cough. The smaller boy took a deep breath and glared at Natsu, stepping over the entry area. His friend still stood completely unmoving, so he just pulled him with him. He ignored Natsu as best as possible and passed her as if nobody were standing there. Tobio tried to smile at her but otherwise followed his friend’s example. Natsu waddled behind them and Shoyo could feel her scrutinizing looks. 

To prevent more disaster, he let his parents know he wasn’t alone as soon as he stepped into their living room. They both looked up and welcomed Tobio. This time he was heard when he apologized for intruding. His parents said they didn’t mind at all and held a bit of small talk with his friend. It was Natsu who turned the attention to the still untouched birthday cake: “Shouldn’t we go eat the cake so Shoyo can wish for something?”. For once Shoyo agreed with his sister, already beaming at her, when she objected him with a smirk and added: “Or do you already have what you wished for?”. “No. I couldn’t hit you yet, so my wish isn’t fulfilled.”, Shoyo retorted, desperately trying to deflect the attention to something different. Tobio looked at him with this look on his face and Shoyo got really nervous thinking about what it meant. 

The evening turned out to be enjoyable, even with Natsu’s constant remarks. His parents were delighted by Tobio, which was a miracle because that boy had the worst social skills out of everybody Shoyo knew. The hours flew by and when they finally looked at the time again, Tobio stared wide-eyed at his friend. “My last bus drove 20 minutes ago!”, he stated with a slightly panicked voice. He jumped out of the chair in the kitchen and scrambled to get his bag. Shoyo tried not to be too disappointed by the prospect of Tobio leaving. His parents shared a look and then his mother spoke up: “Why don’t you sleep here Kageyama-kun? We can take out a futon and you wouldn’t have to walk home. It’s too late for that anyway, who knows what could happen.”. Shoyo’s mum had the undivided attention of the two High schoolers and Natsu. Of course his mum would propose something like this. Secretly, Shoyo was happy that his mum proposed it, he himself didn’t have the guts. Tobio sleeping over would be nerve racking but it would also be amazing. Even though Shoyo hoped for the outcome, he still wasn’t ready when Tobio actually agreed after his mum assured him five times that it would be fine. 

Out of nowhere Tobio facepalmed himself and Shoyo flinched. Tobio turned to his best friend, looking a bit scared, and blurted out: “You’re okay with that, right?”. Shoyo got a warm feeling in his stomach. It was cute how Tobio didn’t want to make him uncomfortable. He chuckled and answered: “What do you think, Bakageyama?”. The unsettled look on Tobio’s face didn’t vanish. Shoyo smiled at him and tried with a different reply: “Of course you can stay.”. Only now his friend seemed to relax, and he smiled back. Natsu cackled and earned another glare. Shoyo’s father stood up and tousled Natsu’s hair. “Natsu stop bothering Shoyo.”. With that, everybody went to their room. 

As soon as they entered Shoyo’s room, Tobio took a look around and then turned around with a puzzled expression on his face: “Huh”. Shoyo raised an eyebrow and surveyed his friend expectantly. He raised his head a little as he replied: “You were right, it’s not that bad. Your room, I mean.”. Shoyo’s jaw dropped. This guy! “Idiot, I told you I have taste! What the fuck.” Shoyo sighed deep, casting Tobio an appalled grimace. They both had to hold back their laughter. “I’m going to get the futon, call Miwa-san or your parents to let them know.”. 

When Shoyo arrived back in his room, Tobio was looking over his phone, blushing wildly. Ah, that meant he probably texted Miwa about it. He chuckled, which resulted in Tobio looking up and blushing some more. Oh, how much Shoyo would pay to see that message. Together they set up the futon next to Shoyo’s bed. As soon as the futon was prepared, Shoyo plopped down on his own bed. Tobio seemed undecided if he should join his friend and fiddled with his fingers. “Should we watch a movie or something?”, Shoyo proposed and reached for his laptop. Relieved that the redhead loosened up the tension, he agreed and cautiously sat down next to him. Shoyo’s laptop wasn’t huge, so to see the movie they had to sit close to each other. Not that Shoyo would complain about that. Their shoulders touched and it was almost like they were cuddling. At the thought of that Shoyo blushed. He thought about leaning on Tobio but in the last moment decided against it, being too much of a coward to pull through. He contented himself with sitting close to his crush and enjoyed every minute of it. 

At half past eleven they finally decided to go to sleep. They were wrapped in blankets, already half asleep. Both of them waited for the other one to say something. Finally, Shoyo decided to break the silence and said: “This was the best birthday I’ve had in years.”. He could hear Tobio taking in a breath. Then something rustled. Tobio cleared his throat and softly asked: “I’m glad. You liked my present?”. Shoyo immediately remembered the keychain and everything it meant to him. Because it was impossible for Tobio to see his blush or hear his rapid heartbeat he allowed himself to be a bit bolder: “It was the best part.”. After a short pause he added a sentence he wanted to say for a long time: “I really like you, idiot.”. A long silence followed after that and Shoyo was almost sure he said something wrong when Tobio’s light voice answered him: “I really like you too, dumbass.”. Shoyo grinned. He didn’t want to think about in which way Tobio meant it, he just appreciated the sentiment of him saying it at all. Soon enough he drifted of to sleep, the other boy doing the same.

\--- 

“I’m here”, Shoyo yelled, sprinting to the left and awaiting the ball from his setter. They were almost there, only one point left for winning. Before he could think of anything other, the ball was on his hand and he hit. Expectantly he peered on the other side of the court. The Libero on the other team was amazing and received the ball in the last second. Shoyo retreated a bit, ready for the next ball. Said ball was set to the right hitter and Tsukishima managed to receive it. Glancing to Tobio, Shoyo could feel that the next ball would come to him as well. He sprinted and decided to do a slide. Not one second too late, the ball was where he wanted it to be and with full force Shoyo hit it again. This time even the Libero was too slow and with finality the ball dropped to the floor. 

For a moment everything was silent and then the crowd roared. A few seconds later the Karasuno team joined them in the applause. Shoyo sprinted to his team, hugging everybody and screaming his heart out. Realizing his setter wasn’t in the team cuddle, he turned around to find Tobio staring at him, an amazed expression on his face. Beaming, Shoyo ran over to him and pulled the setter into a tight embrace. “The tosses were awesome, Bakageyama! It felt like baaam and swoosh and then I hit, and we scored! And we won!”, Shoyo rambled on and on. Tobio chuckled and hugged him tighter. Then, he tried to end the embrace. Amidst his happiness, Shoyo felt something else. He didn’t want to stop the hug. He never wanted to stop the hug. But alas, Tobio was still physically stronger than him and managed to push him away, hands on his shoulders.

Before Shoyo could be too depressed about it or, for that matter, do something else, Tobio’s head came nearer and nearer and only stopped when their lips touched. All thoughts left Shoyo’s mind and his brain short circuited.


	10. Tobio

Of course, their first kiss would be happening in the context of volleyball. Tobio didn’t plan for it to happen, but after that last rally with Shoyo and their first win of the season he just couldn’t not kiss him. The fear of Shoyo rejecting him was still tangible but Tobio knew sometimes you had to risk it all. It’s like this in volleyball too. He pulled at Shoyo’s shoulders and took the risk without another thought. After his spikers initial freeze up, he kissed Tobio back. Tobio felt the redhead’s hands come back to around his waist, pressing the two of them closer. This led the setter to lift his own hands away from Shoyo’s shoulders and on his cheeks. He cupped the face of his best friend and deepened the kiss.

He never thought he could like something as much as volleyball but as he was kissing his best friend, he had to reconsider his previous stance. Kissing Shoyo was amazing and felt vastly different from all the other times he had kissed someone. It was better. He could stay like this forever. Only when Tobio remembered where they were (on a volleyball court after a match, there were people, right?), he pulled back. Immediately he opened his eyes to look at Shoyo. The smaller boy’s eyes were already focused on his own and a beaming smile was directed at him. Tobio knew he was smiling just as much. Finally, he took a step away and looked around. All eyes were on them, their teammates seemingly unanimously decided to have the same look of shock and surprise on their faces. They stood there, open-mouthed, their win currently forgotten. Shoyo appeared to have noticed as well because he blushed furiously and stared at the ground. Tobio could only imagine how red his own face was. He blinked a few times but the situation unfortunately didn’t change.

Apparently, Ukai was the one who found his composure the fastest. Clearing his throat and yelling at the whole team: “Don’t just stand there, take the balls and leave the court!”. With great effort the team started to move again. Tobio decided to focus on his task and ignored the glances from the other players, as well as the murmuring of the crowd which got louder by the second. He was glad when Ukai swiftly sent the boys in the changing room and scheduled a meeting for when they were back at Karasuno. Fortunately, this was their only game today.

In the changing room he concentrated on speed. He showered and changed in record time. He wanted to talk with Shoyo, of course he wanted, but there was never a spare moment and the whole team was still sneaking glances at them. As he was putting on his shoes, an exasperated voice sounded through the room: “Are we just going to ignore that?”. Tobio flinched and looked up to see who asked. Tsukishima leaned on his locker, a smug grin on his face. Yamaguchi swatted at him but didn’t contradict. He was probably just as curious. Shoyo was in the middle of putting on a t-shirt and stopped. Now he stood there, the t-shirt covering his face. He looked like a dumbass but at least nobody could see his face. Tobio admitted that being an idiot had it’s perks because his own blushing face was visible for everyone to see. Not knowing how to react to the situation he finished tying his shoelaces and escaped to the bus, overhearing a snorted “apparently we are” from Tsukishima.

Leaning on the window and hiding his face in his hands, Tobio thought about his actions and how everything went wrong. He didn’t regret kissing Shoyo. He wasn’t ashamed of it. He did, however, regret storming out of the changing room and leaving Shoyo alone. What would he think of him? Would he ever forget him? Did he ruin everything before it began? He let out a loud groan and banged his head against the backrest.

“Well, hello to you to.”

Tobio removed his hands and opened his eyes to a grinning Shoyo. His unruly hair was a little messier than usual, probably because of the t-shirt incident, and he looked so good that it seriously wasn’t fair to Tobio. “Can I?”, asked his friend and gestured to the seat next to him. Tobio nodded and thought about what to say. In the end he settled on “Sorry for before.”. Shoyo waved the apology away and chuckled. “I expected nothing different from you.”. After a short pause he added: “But I was surprised at what you did after the game. Kissing in front of everyone when you should be thinking about volleyball. You usually don’t do stuff like that.”. Nervously Tobio rubbed his neck and studied Shoyo’s side profile. His answer sounded confident but a peek to his spiker’s hands betrayed him. Shoyo was playing with the keychain Tobio gifted to him. For some reason this gave Tobio a boost of confidence and he replied with a quiet voice: “I usually don’t really like a person enough to do stuff like that.” He turned just in time to see Shoyo’s mouth forming that smile that could cure illness and initiate world peace. And it was directed at him. Shoyo could have said nothing more and Tobio would have understood. But Shoyo did and it made Tobio even happier: “I love you too, Tobio.”

A warm feeling spread through Tobio’s whole body. His heart skipped a beat. Because, of course, it’s going to be Shoyo who finds the right words to his feelings. He knew he liked the boy, he knew of his crush. But as soon as Shoyo worded his own feelings Tobio knew it was love what he felt. Sill in thought, he startled at the fingers who stroked his cheek. As soon as he recognized the warm fingers of Shoyo he leaned into the touch, suppressing a sigh because that would just be embarrassing. Encouraged by Tobio’s reaction the smaller boy cupped his cheek with the one hand and placed the other at the back of his hand. Fingers curled around his hair and pulled him closer to the face of the person he loved. Shortly before they collided, Tobio closed his eyes, wanting to experience the kiss only by touch.

Tobio wouldn’t have thought it possible but this kiss was even better than the first one. Shoyo placed his lips softly on his own. The kiss wasn’t hectic or frantic but it still conveyed the longing and wanting they both felt for so long. Tobio didn’t know where he should place his hands but then decided to stop thinking and just doing. He brought his arms around Shoyo’s torso and embraced him, pulling him closer. He could feel Shoyo’s soft laugh against his lips. All the caution they still had was gone and they deepened the kiss.

“Is this going to be a recurring thing? If so, I would like quit the club.”

They both backed away from each other and then focused on the newcomer. Or newcomers. The whole team entered the bus, Yamaguchi and Tsukishima in the front. The latter obviously was the one who commented before. He leaned on Yamaguchi and raised his eyebrows at them. The two boys blushed at being caught. Yamaguchi smirked a little, but there were obviously no bad intentions behind it. Letting out a nervous giggle, Shoyo shook his head. Just following the smaller boys lead Tobio did the same.

“Care to explain?”, Tsukishima spoke up again while Yamaguchi asked: “Are you together now?”. Yamaguchi sounded excited and plopped down on the seats next to them. Tsukishima followed and the other team members sat down on the other seats as well, some pretending to be busy with something even though it was obvious that everyone was listening in on the conversation. Tobio peered at Shoyo, suddenly shy. The redhead seemed to understand and started his explanation, stating proudly: “Well, we kissed.”. Tsukishima stared at the small player like he couldn’t believe his stupidity. Tobio couldn’t believe it as well and huffed: “They could see that, dumbass.”. He earned a half-hearted glare for that one. Tsukishima decided to add with a monotone voice, clearly only holding it together because Yamaguchi’s hand lay calming on his leg, that everybody in the whole gym could see that.

About that, Shoyo didn’t seem to care and continued: “And then we said how we feel and then we kissed again.”. Tsukishima pinched his nose between his eyes. He didn’t say anything but Yamaguchi giggled nonetheless, probably knowing what the middleblocker was thinking. Tobio did too, slapped Shoyo on the back of his head and murmured a loving “idiot” at him. Shoyo stared at him, appalled by the slap: “You can’t do that, we are together now.”. “Of course I can. I have to contain your stupidity as your boyfriend.”, Tobio retorted and the two of them started bickering. Yamaguchi just stared at the scene in front of him, turned to Tsukishima and stated: “That at least answers the question if they’re together.”. Tsukishima grunted and put his headphones on.

It didn’t take long until Shoyo was tired and decided to use Tobio’s shoulder as a pillow. Not that Tobio would complain about that. Before he dozed off, he invited Tobio to eat dinner at his house and Tobio agreed. The setter felt a bit nervous to meet Shoyo’s parents again now that they are together. However, he had to admit that they were really nice the last time they spent time at Shoyo’s and they also didn’t seem like the type who would be against their relationship. He took out his phone and drafted a text to his sister, hovering over the send button. He knew how she would react. In the end he just sent his text, hoping she would answer when he was already asleep or something. Opening his music app, he started the ‘songs for boke’ playlist. The songs really grew on him and he caught himself listening to it more than his own music. Soon enough he was also asleep, ignoring the vibrations coming from his phone in his pocket.

**To Miwa** : I will eat at my boyfriend’s house.

**From Miwa** : ok 😊

 **From Miwa** : wait

 **From Miwa** : ……waiiiiit

 **From Miwa** : what??????

 **From Miwa** : BOYFRIEND????

 **From Miwa** : TOBIOOOOO ANSWER MEEEEE

 **From Miwa** : DID YOU KISS??????

 **From Miwa:** ??

 **From Miwa** : pls answer me

 **From Miwa** : Tobio?

 **From Miwa** : ok fine… but tell me as soon as you’re home!!

The dinner was actually pretty nice, Shoyo’s mother knows how to cook so the food was delicious. Tobio didn’t dare to do anything other than behaving in a friendly way. Shoyo on the other hand didn’t seem to care and when he had to help in the kitchen after they finished their meal, kissed him on the cheek. His mother just laughed and told him to hurry up if he still wanted to spend some time with his boyfriend. Natsu sat on her chair, jaw dropped, and only when they finally went to Shoyo’s room did she beam at her brother and gave him a huge thumbs up. Shoyo’s dad just chuckled and continued to read the newspaper.

They kissed a lot this evening, but it never got boring. It felt amazing. It felt right. The only thing Tobio could think about, was how incredible it felt to be in Shoyo’s arms and feeling his lips on his own. He knew that he could never get enough of it. Just like it was with volleyball. Tobio stopped his kiss and smiled at his boyfriend, who seemed to be just as happy as him. Shoyo smiled back, positively glowing, and whispered loud enough for Tobio to hear: “One more.”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this was the final chapter. It was a bit short but i thought it didn't need much of a conclusion because it was already kind of concluded if that makes sense? 
> 
> This was my first story and i liked writing it, even though i probably still suck at it. Learning by doing? I do plan on writing more stories but i'm busy, so it could take a while.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for everyone who liked or commented (or just enjoyed the story), I really appreciate it!


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